Andromeda's story- book one
by iampotterlocked
Summary: Andromeda Jackson, twin of Percy and daughter of Poseidon has moved to dreary Forks, Washington after fulfilling the great prophecy. there, she meets the Cullens, a type of monster she's never encountered before. but are they really monsters? Can she and Percy keep their secret when running from vampires?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody. this is something I've been thinking about for a while, and I finally got off my butt to make it happen. Favorites and follows are appreciated, of course, but I really need at least one or two reviews as feedback to see if I'm any good at this. Thank you!**

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Guilt. Overwhelming guilt weighed down on me. If only, if only I could have done something. I didn't know what, but it was my fault. There was a girl at the end of the hall. It was dark, and she was crying. My fault again. I rushed to her, but my feet felt as if they were moving through mud. Finally, I reached her. "What's wrong?" I gently asked, putting my hand on her shoulder. She whirled around, pushing my hand away and looking me in the face. My stomach dropped.

"This is all YOUR fault!" the girl screamed through her tears. She was me, younger. I recoiled from her, sucking in air to scream, knowing it would be pointless, but doing it anyway.

My eyes snapped open to Percy hovering above me. "Meda, you were having a nightmare," he explained.

"Yeah," I said quietly. I glanced at the clock. Four thirty. Ugh. Three more hours until we had to hop in my car and drive to Forks high school, home of the Spartans, ironically. I just convinced Percy to live with my adopted dad Charlie and me in tiny little Forks, Washington. It had been about two years since I'd been here, with living with my adoptive mom, and going to camp half-blood when I needed to, and fulfilling the great prophecy, I just didn't have time to visit like I used to.

After I was born, Sally Jackson, my mother, told me that I'd just disappeared from the hospital. She had Percy, and had raised him as normally as she could, hiding him in the mortal world. I was not so lucky. I had been taken into camp when I was four years old, because the monsters can always smell the child of a powerful god, and I had no protection. I was bounced around foster care until I went to camp, and camp half-blood became my home. I lived there year round for about three years, the youngest camper ever. I had become proficient with a bow, decent with a sword, but showed true talent with a long knife in each hand. The older campers taught me how to fight, how to make friends, and what loss feels like as one by one they all died from one thing or another. Making it to your late teens was a celebration. Making it to your twenties was rare. Making it anywhere near 25 was a downright miracle. I was one of the many unclaimed children, living in the Hermes cabin with others. But I was different. The youngest child ever brought to camp, and once I walked in a river and didn't get wet. I had to focus on getting wet before it happened. When I first realized that, I kept it secret. I didn't tell anyone, even Chiron. I wanted to, but had a feeling I shouldn't.

When I was about seven, I decided to chance it again in the mortal world. I could protect myself better than before, with a small dagger in each shoe and coat sleeve. That's where I met Charlie and Renée. They were living in New York at the time and were looking to adopt a child because they found they couldn't have any. Charlie was a low level cop, Renée was going to school for interior design. They were the first ones to give me a chance. They were angry, of course, when I came home late, covered in scratches and cuts and bruises from my fights with monsters or other children. But they never gave up. So I told them that I was a half blood, unclaimed, and they believed me.

Then they also did something that changed me. They put me in ballet lessons. There were so many others in there, my scent was masked somewhat. And I loved it. The jumping, twirling, and competition sang to me. I could go home and sleep because I was so tired. Then they dropped the bombshell. Divorce. My world was thrown upside down at age 10, again. Renée went to phoenix, Arizona for her design job, and Charlie went back to forks, his hometown. I went to camp, Charlie's, and Renée's for a year before I put my foot down. I would only go to Renée and camp. Charlie was the responsible adult; he would be fine on his own. Renée was more irresponsible, and needed me more. I kept in touch with Charlie, going when I could, but I still felt guilt.

Then I met Percy when the toilets exploded. We were both claimed as the children of Poseidon, twin siblings. I admit I was angry. I waited eight years, and he waited a month. So we began our adventures to fulfill prophecies and whatnot. We just finished saving the world in august when I invited Percy to live with me in forks with Charlie. I guess Sally named me Andromeda because she did not want Percy and me to get separated. But we were, for 12 years of our lives. And I never actually lived with him like I was supposed to. We shared summers in camp, but that was really it. But now, with Sally and Renée both married, I felt I should spend time with Charlie and Percy again. And we were starting our sophomore year in high school in November in three hours.

"Couldn't have waked up an hour later, right. And you know I can't go back to sleep," Percy complained, sitting on my mattress.

"Well deal. And at least you have time to fix up your hair," I shot back.

He sighed dramatically, and then turned serious. "You have your pencils and your watch, right?"

"Of course, idiot," I reassured him. My watch was the one Tyson gave me, the one with the shield on the inside. My pencils turned into knives when I clicked the lead out.

Charlie had assured us that through the kindness of their hearts, the school had given us the same schedule for the rest of the year. If we lasted that long. I pushed the thought away. We would be fine. Time passed, and I ate my breakfast and showered. I was glad that I had the bathroom to myself. Percy and Charlie had to share. I put my hair in the usual tight braid down my back. Just my luck if we met some titan or something else on our first day. At 7:15 we were ready to go. Armed and dangerous and all that jazz. I pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine to the old truck Charlie bought off his friend as our present.

Percy glanced nervously at the students milling around. He didn't like school as much, with his ADHD and dyslexia. For some reason, I was the anomaly among demigods and had neither.

"Hey," I said, lightly punching him in the shoulder. "You'll do fine. I'll be there with you and everything."

His mouth lifted at the corners a bit, and he touched his camp necklace. Mine had more beads, but I never took it off either.

"Let's go," he said, and got out of the car.

We walked up to the office and tried to ignore the blatant stares of the other students. It was a small town, not many new people, there would be talk, I knew. Head up, I told myself. We eventually reached the office and got our schedules. The TA at the office then walked us to our first class. She made eyes at Percy. He didn't seem to notice. Good.

The day was uneventful. Just going from class to class, introducing ourselves, smiling when needed. The lunch break was a gift from the gods, I didn't know if I could take it any longer. Percy and I sat with some people we met, Jessica, Angela, mike, Tyler, Eric, and another girl who I forgot. There were no monsters that I noticed. We made small talk at lunch, and then I saw them. Five people who did not look like people walked into the room. Well, they more like glided. Their skin was too pale, faces too symmetrical.

"Who are they?' I asked Jessica. She whispered that they were the Cullens, moved there a year ago, all adopted, father a doctor at the local hospital. I nodded at all the right points, but kept glancing back to them. They all bought a lunch, but they did not eat. Too graceful, too…. Wrong. Monsters? But why bother blending in, why not attack us where we stood? Again, I was grateful we survived a swim in the Styx. At least we had some ready protection in case they did attack. And, Percy was the best swordsman and I was the best knives woman the camp had seen in centuries. We could take them, I was sure. I could be deadly if I needed to be.

"Keep an eye out," I whispered to Percy in Greek. I didn't want anyone asking questions. He nodded and went back to eating.

"I'm glad we're here though" he said. "We've never…" I understood. We never got to be brother and sister like we should be. We didn't grow up together, didn't spend enough time together.

"I know," I said. I looked up at the possible monsters, and found one staring at me already. Red gold hair, symmetrical face, puzzled expression. I looked down. Lunch ended, and Spanish began. Thankfully, we didn't have to introduce ourselves then. We took the trek down to biology, and then the teacher held us at the front. Looked like he would make us introduce ourselves. Ugh. I gave the simple introduction I'd been giving all day. I looked around and saw one of the possible monsters sitting at an empty table. No friends. Hm.

"Hello," I said to the class. "My name is Andromeda Jackson and this is my brother Percy. We just moved here from New York, and we are, in fact, twins."

The teacher gestured to the empty seat next to monster boy. Great. Percy dragged a spare stool over and I sat in the one there. Monster boy stiffened. I set out my notebook and pens, then just in case, my pencils. I could grab them if needed. I glanced at him, and saw that his eyes were fixed on me, black pools of hatred. I looked back to the front, and took notes when I needed to on the lecture. I nudged Percy with my leg, and he looked over me to the monster boy….. Edward, I think Jessica said his name was. Well, if he hated me so much, but didn't attack, I think that said a lot. Maybe he was mortal. A strange, non-mortal looking mortal. Percy nudged me back, noting the look on my other partner's face. The hour passed like that, and when it ended, Edward quickly left the room. Very quickly, too quickly, really. I would keep an eye on him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Guys, I really need a little bit of feedback. thanks for reading!**

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The bell rang- signaling the end of biology. Next was gym. I wasn't too sure how I felt about that, because most of my gym experience came from shooting arrows, throwing knives, and decapitating straw dummies. A boy with carefully gelled blond hair came up to us and introduced himself as mike from lunch. He also had gym the next period, and offered to show us to there. Percy and I agreed. The people here were more friendly and outgoing than in New York, something to do with the small town mindset, I guessed.

"Did you see the TA from the office making eyes at you this morning?" I whispered to Percy with a smirk.

"Of course not," he said, blushing a bit.

"Because if you did, I would have to tell Nabs, you know." I warned.

"Why do you call her that? Her name is Annabeth." Percy said with a sigh. "I'd never be able to get away with a nickname."

"Well excuse you, but I've known her since I was seven. And the word nab is in her name, so there." I said. Yeah it was strange at first when my brother started dating one of my best friends, but you didn't have to be the oracle to know it was coming.

"Hey what was up with Cullen today?" the boy, mike, asked. "He looked like you stabbed him with a pencil or something."

I had to hide my laugh in a cough. Stab him with my pencil indeed. What a lovely thought. "No, I dunno what's up with him," I said.

Percy was also smiling as we entered the gym. "Don't worry, us Yanks are used to more rudeness than that," he said.

Thankfully, we didn't have to participate in gym for that day because we didn't have a uniform. The teacher said that there was some left in the office for newcomers like us. So Percy and I just had to sit in the corner watching the other students play volleyball. Not one of my favorites, but I supposed that I could hold my own if I needed to.

"So what do you think about that family?" Percy asked me quietly.

"They don't seem like monsters- at least any that I've ever had the pleasure of encountering." I responded. Percy laughed. He'd seen some marks of the 'pleasure' I'd had encountering many types of monsters. I shifted in my place, feeling the armor around my stomach move.

Before I went in the Styx, I knew I would need to have the "Achilles heel" somewhere on my body. So I chose a place in my stomach, a few inches above my belly button. That way I would always see an attack coming. I then asked Beckendorf to make me armor that would wrap around my stomach. He made a masterpiece, it was almost like fish scales that molded itself to my skin as I moved, and so lightweight I could barely feel it.

"But," I continued, "There's something not right about them. During the class, I even tried shifting the mist away from him so I could see if he was human or not. But there wasn't any to shift away. He was like one of the mortals."

Percy nodded, looking troubled. "But the way he acted…" he trailed off. "It was so strange. But if they were monsters, I don't see why they wouldn't attack. Witnesses never seem to be a problem for them."

I laughed, remembering all the times I've been attacked in public, wishing that witnesses did protect us. The period passed like that, and when we left, we went to the office to get the gym uniforms and turn in the slip all of our teachers signed.

When we walked into the office, I almost took Percy's arm and walked out. Edward Cullen was in front of the desk, talking to the receptionist. I could make out some of what he was saying. He wanted to transfer out of biology to another class, and any other time. Percy and I looked at each other. Strange. A girl walked into the office and the door swung shut. Edward turned around and glared at us before telling the receptionist that he would suffer through biology if he had to.

After we turned in our slips and got our uniforms, Percy and I gathered up our things and walked out to the truck. I handed Percy the keys- our deal was that I would drive in the morning and he would on the afternoon.

"Okay, I'm 99% sure he's not a monster," he said as we sat in the truck. "Why would he want to get away from us? Most of them want to get close to kill, not farther away." He started the truck.

"But what made him act like that then. And no offense, but I think he was angry at me, not you," I said as I shook my hair out of the braid. "He was glaring at me in biology, and it seemed he was glaring at me again in the office. Maybe it's just because I'm the one who sat next to him. Maybe he's gay and wants to get it on with you." I dramatically looked horrified.

Percy slammed his head against the steering wheel and sighed at the red light. "Oh my gods," was all he offered as a response. He didn't say anything as he pulled into the driveway. As he parked the car, he looked at me and started laughing. We survived our first day, no attacks at school, and we have an enemy. I joined in and eventually we were both crying. Relief, joy, and belonging flowed through me. Here I was, being almost normal with my brother for the first time ever. It felt great.

The next day it was raining, big surprise there. The next day was a bit better, people didn't stare as much, and if they did, it wasn't for as long. Some people sat with us at lunch, and I could smile and nod and play along with all of them. I glanced at the Cullen and Hale family to see if I would have to deal with Edward again today. But he wasn't there. Okay. I could deal with that. I was confident he wasn't a monster, but if he did the glare thing again I was going to ask him what his deal was. But now, I didn't have to. The day passed uneventfully, and in gym I didn't hit anyone with the ball, so that was good. After some time, Charlie got back and asked us how our second day went. He wasn't sure how to act around Percy, but I could tell he was becoming more comfortable. After that, we settled into the routine of school, homework, and hunting monsters when needed. Surprisingly, there was not a single monster for three days. But one day our math teacher was out sick, and the substitute looked suspicious. So I spilled my bag, and Percy stayed behind until all the students were out of the room. Then I pulled my knives and stabbed the substitute in the face. Had he been mortal, I would have had to use the Mist to make him forget a knife passed through him. But he wasn't mortal. He looked surprised for a moment before he exploded into the white dust all monsters did.

After some time, I got used to not dealing with Edward Cullen. His family didn't seem to be as rude as him, further solidifying my theory that he was just a pretty, rude mortal. Mike and Eric invited Percy and I to a trip to the beach on the nearby Indian reservation. Charlie's friend Billy and his son Jacob came by the house a few times. They seemed nice, and it would be welcome to spend time by the sea where I was most comfortable.

Percy then decided that he should drop the bombshell. "Meda, I need to transfer out of that biology class. I can't take it anymore." He said one afternoon.

"What? Percy I know it's difficult, but I'll help you if you need it and you can always ask the teacher for help," I said. I knew a few people in the class, but he was the one to sit next to me.

"You know the intro to chemistry class you need to take before biology?" he asked me, not looking in my eyes.

"What about it?"

"I failed it. Barely scraped a D in the class. I was really stressing out about the prophecy, and…."

I cut him off. "Fine. I understand. It's your life; you need to do what you have to." I was disappointed, but what could I do?

"Thanks Meda. It's just that one class. I'll still have all other ones with you." he said hopefully.

I had my empty lab desk all to myself for a few days, and that was nice. People left me alone, something I was used to.

A few more days passed before Forks got the first snow of the season. I wasn't a big fan of it, but I could deal. Being from New York made someone used to it after a while. But this one was more of a snow and rain mixture. Percy and I just stepped into the cafeteria quietly debating if Tyson should specialize in making armor or weapons.

"Have you seen your watch? Genius! And it's strong and flexible, perfect protection against anything, really. And he's not much of a fighter, so armor is great," I argued.

"Well I've seen him repair some swords, and I think that's where his true talent lies," Percy said, elbowing me in the shoulder.

"not really, his true talent lies in eating a pound of peanut butter and a 24 pack of mountain dew in an hour," I shot back. Percy laughed and rolled his eyes. After we got our lunch, I heard a sharp crack and turned to look where the noise was coming from. While I was looking, I saw the Cullen table. They were laughing and throwing snow. All five of them. Shit.


	3. Chapter 3

**You can skip this if you want, but I have something to say. I've gotten a couple reviews on this, and it was the most wonderful feeling of my life. if my parents found out I'm doing this, they'd all laugh at me. the fact that people really like a story I made in my head to escape my life is just so amazing. I've never gotten such enthusiastic reviews, and reading them made me tear up. so from the bottom of my heart, thank you everyone.**

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I stepped on Percy's foot and he saw the five of them laughing.

"Keep an eye on him in Bio, okay?" he said, worried.

"You think I was going to do anything else?" I rolled my eyes. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I mean, I've only been trained to kill since I was four. And I came to school practically armed to the teeth every day. I wondered what would happen if they installed metal detector at the entrances.

All of the people at the table were very excited for some sort of snowball fight that was going to happen after class in the parking lot. I, of course, took it upon myself to actually look out the window and saw that the snow had turned into rain. I smiled, happy it was not as cold as to cause snow anymore.

Lunch finished, and on the way out of the cafeteria, the boys groaned as they saw the snow turn into slush and melt away. Mike walked to biology with me, lamenting all the way about the lost opportunity for a snowball fight.

"Don't feel bad," I said as I walked into the classroom, "the snow wasn't the right texture anyway."

He seemed to cheer up as he walked to his table at the back of the classroom. The teacher, Mr. Banner, was distributing microscopes and slides to each table with the directions to identify which stage of reproduction the cell was in. I flipped open the textbook with the pictures of the example cells and then stared at the second hand move around the clock. The room was buzzing, many excited that they have a chance to talk to their friends instead of taking notes silently on a lecture.

Briefly, I worried about how to interact with Edward. I would have to talk to him, it was a partner activity. And if he tried anything, I could always stab him or shoot him. I closed my eyes and wished for the hundredth time that Percy didn't fail his intro to chemistry class last year and was here with me. I turned my thoughts to that gym I saw on the drive home from school, and if they would hire me as a dance instructor. I'd probably have to just teach the little kids instead of the more advanced ones.

The chair next to me scraped loudly, but I ignored it. Since he hated me so much, I'd have to ignore him as much as possible.

"Hello," a quiet voice said.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was beautiful, handsome, and gorgeous all mixed into perfection. I didn't like it. From my experience, the beautiful ones were the most dangerous. Spending any amount of time with the goddess of love and beauty could teach anyone that lesson.

"I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last week. I'm Edward Cullen. And you must be Meda Jackson?" he asked.

"How do you know my name?" I asked. Charlie loved the sound of my full name, and would tell anyone who would listen that my name was Andromeda after that Greek princess.

"I think everyone knows your name, it's been the topic of conversation for weeks around here." He laughed almost musically.

"Oh. It's just that my dad calls me Andromeda behind my back, and that's what everyone knows me as. Please, keep calling me Meda," I said.

"Oh," he said awkwardly.

The class started at that moment, thankfully. Just labeling the cells. He pushed the microscope to me, saying, "ladies first?"

I'd done this once before with another class I had in Arizona. It took a bit of remembering before I correctly got the phase of the cell right.

"May I?" Edward asked after I wrote it down on the lab sheet.

"Sure," I said. I pushed the microscope to him and his hand brushed mine. I jerked it away.

It was cold, really, really, cold. Too cold. I've never encountered a monster that was pretending to be a human with cold hands before. Maybe he didn't have gloves. Maybe it was just bad circulation.

He labeled the other one quickly and pushed the microscope back to me to identify the next slide. And that's how it went, I looked at the slides, and he would check my work. I wondered if he'd done this before as well. After all of the slides were labeled, I looked at the clock and had to stop myself from hitting my head against the desk. That would probably not do so well for the desk. 30 minutes left to go in the class, and I was bored out of my mind. Ugh.

I felt eyes on me and looked at Edward. He had a look of confusion or frustration on his face. Then I spotted it. When he glared at me, his eyes had been dark brown or black. Now they were lighter, more gold than anything else.

"Did you get contacts?' I asked him. He looked confused.

"No, why?" he asked.

"Your eyes look different," I said. I was testing his reaction, and he looked confused still. I was 99% sure, but that 1% was still nagging at me. I needed to find out what he was, for my own safety and Percy's, but also for the world. I had to do that a lot, save the world.

The teacher took that moment to come over and ask us why we weren't working. I told him I'd done the lab before, in my other school.

"Well, it's a good thing you two are partners," he said, turning away. "At least the other kids will get a chance to learn something," he muttered sourly under his breath.

I laughed once quietly. So not only was he pretty, he was a genius as well?

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" he asked me quietly.

Oh so now he was trying to be nice? Blech.

"Not really, I couldn't care less," I said, staring at him. Maybe it would make him uncomfortable and he'd shut up. He looked surprised by my answer.

"You must not like the cold or wet, though, coming from Phoenix. Is Forks a difficult place to live?" he kept asking me questions.

"Forks are a place like any other." I said. "It just rains more. Can't be helped."

"Then why come here?" he asked accusingly.

Fine. I'd humor him.

"My adoptive mother and biological mothers both got remarried. I thought I'd bring Percy over here so he can meet my adoptive dad and live happily ever after." I said. But there wasn't going to be a happily ever after. I knew, deep down, that my days were numbered. You can't be a child of the big three and live to see your kids grow up or something.

He looked surprised by my answer. Then he said something that surprised me.

"You put on a good show, but I'm willing to bet you're suffering more than you let on," he said.

I ignored that. Don't cry, I sternly said, trying to shut out the faces of all the people who died for me, because of me. All the people, my family, really, who died because I existed.

"Why does it matter to you?" I snapped at him. What was with the sudden therapy session?

"That's a good question," he mused to himself. "Am I annoying you?"

"Yes," I said. Leaving it at that.

Mr. Banner started the class again, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward leaning away from me, his hands clenched into fists. So I didn't just make up the thing last week. That was a relief, he was acting so much nicer today, and I thought for a moment that I had gone crazy. On the way to gym, I met up with Percy and mike. The class had switched to badminton. That was acceptable, although I thought of all the ways I could physically harm someone with the racket if I needed to. One thing I took real pride in was the ability I had to turn almost anything into a weapon.

The rain had turned into mist by the time Percy and I left for the parking lot. I handed Percy the keys while telling him in a low voice what happened in the class. He turned the engine on and I said that I was still sure he was mortal- not a problem for us.

I felt someone looking at me, so I turned around to look out the window, and three cars down, Edward Cullen was staring at me intently. I stared back. Was he trying to intimidate me? Then in that case, he was failing. Very few things intimidated me anymore.

Percy put the car into reverse and drove home. I pointed out the gym/dance studio to him and said one afternoon I wanted to go see if I could get a job or something. He congratulated  
me and promised he would go with me for moral support.

"Yeah, and the fact that I'm the one with the car keys, jackass," I said.

That night, my dream was different. I was in the center of the room, and I was surrounded by multiple Edwards. I tried to escape, but they wouldn't let me. They kept coming closer and closer, and then they all opened their eyes.

They were all blood red.


	4. Chapter 4

**I have become a review addict. praise and feedback highly welcome! thank you all!**

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My eyes snapped open. I looked around in confusion, the room was so bright. Did I oversleep? I rushed to the window and saw the source of the brightness. There was about two inches of snow, and all the rain from yesterday had frozen into ice. I checked my clock and saw that the alarm was going off in 10 minutes. I turned it off and got ready for school. Charlie had already left for work, and Percy and I had the house to ourselves. Percy was worried about driving on the ice, but I assured him that truck was practically a tank, and we'd be fine.

But, he slipped going down the driveway and shot me a glare that said, "I told you so."

I admit I did take my time getting to school that day, but for some reason the truck didn't even slip or anything. Maybe the roads already had salt or sand on it. When I got out of the car, a silver glint caught my eye. I gripped the truck carefully as I went over to the back tire and saw chains. Charlie must have put them on before he left for work. He was quiet, but the gesture showed that he really did care.

"Hey Percy!" I called as he got out of the truck.

"Yeah, what?" he asked.

"Charlie put chains on the back tires. That's why we didn't kill ourselves this morning." I laughed.

He stopped on the opposite side of the truck and examined the chains. "That was nice of him, although he really didn't have to," he said. Just then he looked behind me in horror.

MEDA! GET DOWN! I heard him think in my head. I whipped my head around and saw several things in once. A car with tires locked against the ice was heading straight towards me. Edward Cullen was a few cars over, looking at me with an unreadable expression. If I was human, I probably would have died. But I'm not. I threw myself on the ground, and pushed myself under the bed of the truck. I also willed the ice to melt, giving the van more traction. Somebody had spread salt out on the parking lot earlier, and that made the water easier to control. Suddenly Edward Cullen appeared and stood between me and the van, one arm against the van, the other against me.

It happened in a split second. My heart was hammering in my chest, but I felt good. Alive, really, for the first time in months. It had been too long since my last near death experience. Although I probably could have just stood there and watched as the van had an indent of me in the door and walked away. But I couldn't give myself away like that.

Edward looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," I said, studying him. "How did you get here so fast?"

"I was right next to you," he said seriously.

I opened my mouth to argue, then shut it again as Percy begged me to let it go for now. So it seemed as if the Cullens weren't human after all. There was no way he could have moved that fast. That one percent laughed at how I could have ever thought he was human.

An ambulance was called, and Tyler, the driver of the van had to go on a stretcher because he had some pretty deep cuts. I was ushered into the ambulance, thankfully, not on a stretcher. Percy refused to be separated from me and went in to. Edward rode in there also, mostly at the insistence of an EMT.

As I went on the ambulance, I looked at his family. They looked angry to furious, but they did not look in any way concerned for their brother. The one percent turned into a 10.

At the hospital, Tyler refused to shut up about how sorry he was, how he should make it up to me somehow, and Percy was in the chair next to my bed silently laughing.

"Tyler." I said, cutting him off.

"Yeah?" he answered. He really did look sorry, but enough was enough.

"Shut up. If you don't, I'm going to really start wishing you killed me so I won't have to do it myself." I said bluntly. He looked surprised, but he shut up. Finally, I got some quiet. Percy took that moment to actually start laughing out loud, and I joined him after a few seconds. I'd given up politeness years ago, and it actually worked much better for me.

I had to have an x-ray done on my head and right shoulder; because Edward told an EMT that I hit it on the concrete or something.

Just that moment a doctor came in to see Percy and me laughing our heads off in the hospital room. He was pale, and as handsome as his adoptive son.

"Hello Meda," he said. "I'm Dr. Cullen. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Bit annoyed since Tyler wouldn't shut up, but he has, and I'm good." I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder at Tyler. He looked surprised at my bluntness.

"May I talk to you privately for a moment? I'm afraid there was something on your x-rays that worried me." He said.

I wondered what was wrong. I'd had a lot of injuries, through foster care, ballet, and normal demigod stuff. But I'd always healed well, and I had no idea what he was talking about. He asked me to follow him to what looked like his office and asked me to have a seat. I insisted Percy come with me.

"When I was examining your x rays, I saw some head trauma and a few injuries to your shoulder and arm. There were more of them than I feel comfortable with, and I know I have no right to intrude, but if you were… harmed in any way growing up, you should know that there are resources available." He said.

I knew he meant well, but what could I say? Oh don't worry about me; I just got those when I was saving every single sorry butt in the world? Instead, I just smiled.

"Dr. Cullen, I was in foster care growing up for many years before I was with Charlie and Renée. I don't know what you've experienced, but in the foster care I was in, fighting happened, and if you didn't get or give a couple fractures during your time, you were probably doing something wrong. I've gotten help since then, and I'm all better now." I assured him. He looked relieved.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure. You seem as if you're free to go, and have a very nice day," he said as he showed us out. Charlie had to go fill out some paperwork, and Percy and I waited in the waiting room. I saw a glimpse of reddish hair and gave my bag to Percy. I was going to track that lying, son of a gun down and make him explain himself.

I caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to me. "What the hell was that all about?" I demanded in a quiet but angry voice. "Why the hell do you expect me to lie for you?"

"You hit your head and have no idea what you're talking about," he said defiantly.

"As if hitting my head would do any damage," I thought to myself.

"What do you think happened?" he asked mockingly.

"I know you were there too quickly," I said. He kept his face smooth, and didn't say anything else. I just wanted to put my knife in his face at that moment, but I turned around and went back to the waiting room. Percy looked at me and I shook my head a little. After some time Charlie dropped both of us off at school and I finished my day with biology and gym. Because the coach found out about what happened that morning, he insisted I sit out, which was fine with me. On the way back, the ice had started to melt, and Percy and I took the chains off.

But, there were even better things that happened because of the incident. Edward Cullen started ignoring me. He never talked to me, looked at me, and breathed at me. It was mildly unnerving, because for the first week or so I expected him to attack me at any point throughout the day, and he never did. Percy did well in school, getting at least a B in most of his classes, and an A- in his chemistry class. Charlie threw a party for us with sushi and sparkling cider. I jokingly requested some alcohol, but sadly, he refused.

One weekend, I got some old targets out of the garage and set them up in the backyard. Whenever I was bored, I would either shoot at them or throw my knives. It calmed me, the concentration I felt when I was training or fighting. Like nothing mattered except my aim, and the thunk as the arrow or knife sunk into the wood. Percy had absolutely no patience for throwing things, and I worried if he had a bow he'd probably kill himself by accident. It was a very likely scenario. But for the first time in years, I was happy, at peace. I had no prophecy to fulfill; I was spending time with my brother and dad. It was good. Really good.


	5. Chapter 5

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Sadly, for the rest of the week I was again the center of attention. Tyler followed me around, apologizing. At first I tried to ignore it, but when he started waiting for me after my classes, I snapped. I walked out of my Spanish class in a relatively good mood. I had an A on my latest pop quiz, and I thought I could get a decent GPA for the semester. But when Percy and I walked out of the class and Tyler was already there, I knew what I had to do.

"Hold my books," I told Percy, shoving my books in his arms. He had a grin on his face, already guessing what I was going to do. I stalked over to Tyler and grabbed his shoulder with one hand, and propelled him into the row of lockers with the forearm of my other one on his neck.

"You think this is funny?" I asked. I was well aware that the students were staring, but I was also too angry to care. "This isn't funny. I don't care if you're sorry or what. Talk to me again, and I swear, I'm going to physically harm you. Got it?"

He looked like he was going to wet his pants. He nodded quickly. I backed off and went over to Percy, who was silently laughing at the look on my face and the looks on all the other student's faces.

"I don't think he'll ever bother you again." He said as we sat in our seats. "But why didn't you punch him or something?"

"You know why. If I punched him I'd probably kill him and have no damage whatsoever to my hand. I'd have better luck punching his car." I said. The nice thing about being invincible was I could take more risks. I could block a knife with my shoulder instead of my shield. But I also had to be more careful. No physical violence outside of a fight, no punching cars. Stuff like that, it always got on my nerves.

Jessica and Angela were the most worried about me. They were sure for a second that I had been run over and killed.

"No, don't say that. Haven't you heard the news? I'm practically invincible," I said with a grin. I found over the years that if I told people the truth with a smile, they often thought I was being funny or clever. I was proved right again, when they both smiled and laughed as if I told a joke. Percy didn't approve, he always thought it was too much of a risk.

Nobody paid any attention to Edward though. And after the accident, he started ignoring me in biology. Which was fine by me? It was strange, though, that he kept up the game of being a mortal. But I did have doubts. What if he really was next to me, what if I didn't notice? But I pushed them out of my head. I noticed everything, it was my job.

Mike, on the other hand, was happier and chattier than ever. He would talk to me a bit before the biology started. He was a nice person. And, Jessica had a massive crush on him. But if he thought I liked him back, he was dead wrong. If I ever wanted to date someone, they sure as hell wouldn't be human. Well, they'd have to be another half blood. And Mike was as mortal as you can get.

One day, Jessica asked my permission to ask Mike out to a girl's choice dance. I gave her my enthusiastic permission. The next day, she was very quiet for the two classes we were together. I assumed he turned her down and left it at that. During lunch, Percy and I discussed the upcoming beach trip. We were pretty happy, although we were disappointed we wouldn't get a chance to walk on water, or cause a minor tsunami, kept under control of course.

That day in biology, Mike seemed quieter as I set my stuff out. I didn't mind it, I thought he talked a bit too much anyways. But it was different.

"So Jessica asked me out to the dance today," he stated.

"Have fun," I said, having to stop myself from giggling at the look of shock on his face.

"I told her I would have to think about it, in case you wanted to ask me." He said.

"Mike, you're cool and all, but I have things I would rather do than going on a date with you. For example, sticking my hand down a garbage disposal." I said with a smile. He looked even more shocked, and nodded and walked back to his table. I giggled at his surprise. He must really be used to getting whatever he wants.

Next to me, a soft laugh interrupted my thoughts. Edward Cullen was laughing at me, his head thrown back, and his eyes closed. I looked away and kept ignoring him. After class ended, I quickly gathered up my things.

"Meda?" he asked.

I looked up and stared at him. "What? Are you talking to me again?"

"No, not really." He said.

"Well then," I said as I slung my backpack over my shoulder. "I'll make it easier for you." I turned around and heard him say quickly that it was easier this way. Pompous jerk.

In gym, the class had moved onto basketball. I had to duck out of the way a couple times and never managed to make a basket. I was complaining to Percy about it as I saw a tall person leaning against the truck. It was Eric, someone who we sat with at lunch. I greeted him with a smile, and climbed into the truck.

"Hi Eric, what's up?" I asked.

"Would you go to the dance with me?" he asked. Oh. EW.

"No," I said, and left it at that.

"Why not?" he asked. Yet another guy who was used to getting what he wants.

I stared at him and answered with, "Because I said so." And kept staring until he was to too intimidate and walked away.

Percy laughed as he put the car into reverse. "It's been happening to me all day too," he said. "All these girls don't understand that I am happily taken."

Edward cut us off and was waiting for his family, causing us to idle in the parking lot.

"Are you?" I asked Percy.

"Am I what?"

"Happily taken?"

He thought for a bit. "Yeah, I am." He smiled, and I could see that he was telling the truth.

"But, if I become an aunt while I'm a teenager, we're going to have some serious problems," I warned, and laughed as his face turned beet red. There was a knock on my passenger door. It was a guy that sometimes sat with us at lunch. I didn't even know his name, but by the look on his face, I knew what he was going to ask.

"Will you go to the dance with me?" he asked with a cocky smirk.

"No," I said shortly, wishing that Percy could just run that Volvo over already.

"That's okay," he said. "There's always prom." He waved and walked away to his car. In a split second, I made my decision. I was so effing tired of all these guys thinking they can walk all over me. This never happened in camp, probably because I was too terrifying to ask out. I grabbed a pencil out of my bag- not my knife ones, but just a regular wood pencil and threw myself out of the truck. I took another half second to steady myself, and threw it at his back, in between his shoulder blades. I aimed correctly, and he turned around, shocked to look at me. I held up two middle fingers at him.

"Answer is still no!" I yelled.

I climbed back in the car, and Percy was looking at me in shock.

"Good aim," was all he said as the Cullens moved and we went home.


	6. Chapter 6

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For the rest of the day, all Jessica and Angela really talked about was the plans for the dance. Percy and I pretty much just stayed quiet and nodded at the right parts.

"Uneventful, right?" I asked him as we filled our trays with food. He laughed and agreed. Maybe the weather was keeping all the monsters away, because we'd had significantly less to deal with than what we were normally used to. We then talked about possibly getting Tyson to come up here. I hadn't seen him for a couple months, and missed him quite a bit.

Jessica elbowed me in the arm and whispered, "Edward Cullen is staring at you again." I looked and saw that he was sitting at a table alone and staring at me. He motioned for me to come. I motioned Percy to stay, and walked over to the table and plopped myself in the chair across him.

"I must apologize for the way I acted toward you the past few weeks. Please forgive me," he said. He seemed sincere.

"Apology accepted," I said. "Next."

He seemed to find that amusing. But then he went on some talk about letting chips fall, and going to hell thoroughly. I could tell him some things about going to hell, but I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"I don't understand what you're talking about," I said, interrupting him.

"I always do seem to say too much around you," he mused quietly.

"So are we suddenly friends now or what?" I asked. If we did become friends, I have to say I could probably tolerate him. He didn't seem as much of a dick as mike or Eric.

"Friends…" he repeated, seeming to roll the word on his tongue.

Percy came up behind me and sat down. "What's going on?" he asked. Edward leaned forward and studied him intently.

"I think we're friends," I said.

"Friends?" Percy seemed confused.

I crossed my fingers and held them up to Percy's face with my most serious expression. "Besties," I said seriously.

He rolled his eyes and shoved my hand away. "Really?" he asked.

Edward nodded his head.

"Okay," I said, standing up. "I'll see you in biology, BFF."

"I'm not going to biology today. Sometimes ditching is healthy," he said seriously.

"Alright," I said, leaving it at that and walking away. Percy followed me, his hand on my shoulder.

"Okay?" he asked.

"okay." I said. I was sure that if he was a monster, he wouldn't actually do anything. Why bother being friends, and why bother being so outrageously gorgeous?

Jessica pounced on me and asked what he wanted. I told her to ask him if she wanted to know so much. She looked disappointed by my answer.

I made the trek to biology alone; it seemed as if mike hadn't forgiven me for turning him down yet. But I really didn't care about that. When I got to biology, the teacher started handing out cards to all students. We wrote our names on them and then he told us that we would have to prick our finger and learn our blood type.

Well poop.

He showed one student prick their finger, and then told us to do the same. I raised my hand and asked to be excused for the class. I faked looking a bit nauseous, and he immediately let me go. I smiled to myself as I left the room. Blood didn't frighten me, I've seen a lot of my own and my friends' and after a while, I got used to it. But I wondered how it would look if I stuck my finger and broke the needle. I walked under one of the covered walkways and sat one a bench. I leaned my head back and cracked my neck. I then pulled my pencils out and just held them. They really were works of art, all the blade hidden in such a mundane object. They'd saved my life more times than I could count. I started twirling them absentmindedly, wondering if Edward really wanted to be friends or what he was trying to get or do. I hoped Tyson could come over soon, I'd bought some peanut butter, and by some, I meant a lot of peanut butter.

After some time, the bell rang and I put my pencils back in my pocket and waited for Percy outside his class. I had to explain to him about the blood typing thing, and he sympathized with me. It seemed as if everyone was excited for the trip to the beach tomorrow. It was supposed to be partly sunny, and with the near constant rain, almost everyone was excited for it.

The next day, an unusual brightness woke me up, and sure enough, there was some sun peeking out behind the clouds. Percy and I went to the newton's outfitter's store and jumped out. The people there seemed glad to see us. At first, I only thought of them as props, fake friends that I could be seen with, and then leave them when I moved on. But, after a while, I learned that they were all decent people. With the exception of some boys who didn't know the meaning of no, they were alright.

Percy and I got in the back seat of mike's van and we enjoyed the ride to the beach. The forest was really pretty, and in the light I could see all of the leaves on the trees.

The boys lit a driftwood fire, and I was surprised at the color. It was a nice pretty blue. Percy and I left the others to sit on a rock overlooking the water. I felt so calm, and I just didn't feel as if the waves of the ocean matched my mood. I willed them to slow down and become smaller. Percy looked at me and I cracked a smile when he looked back at the waves. He caused one larger wave to break through the water, and then began a battle of wills to see who could control the water. Within minutes we were laughing too much to continue. We were distracted by a few people coming over to the group; they looked like people from the nearby reservation there to socialize.

We jumped off of the rock and went to go see who they were. A boy who noticed me was Jacob, I remembered him as the son of Charlie's friend Billy. I introduced him to Percy, and they seemed to get along.

One of the girls named Lauren chose that moment to talk about how none of the Cullens could come to the beach, and what a shame it was. I didn't like her.

" 's family?" a taller boy asked. "They don't come here." He left it at that.

Some of the boys wanted to go hiking, and Percy wanted to go with them. I urged him to go; I didn't want to seem too clingy. We'd barely separated since coming here, and we were used to being apart so often.

I walked down the beach a bit with Jacob. He said that his two older sisters moved out, and one was in college while the other one was married and living in Hawaii. I didn't think his sisters were much older than I, but it was a surprise.

But I was also curious about that comment the boy made.

"What did that boy mean, when he said the Cullens don't come here?" I asked.

"Do you like scary stories?" he asked.

"Sure," I tried to sound enthusiastic. Maybe this way I could find out what they were.

"One legend says that we're descended from wolves, explaining how it's a tribal law not to kill them. Then there's the one about the cold ones. They're the enemy of the wolf, and the tribal elder was about to kill them. But these ones were different, not dangerous like the others, and a truce was made. They had to stay off tribal land, and we would leave them alone. These were more civilized cold ones; they didn't hunt people, only animals." He said.

"So are the Cullens like the ones your great grandfather met?" I asked.

"No, they're supposed to be the same ones." He said. My mind was reeling.

"And what are the cold ones?" I asked, half knowing the answer but wanting proof.

"Blood drinkers," he answered. "You call them vampires."

There was very little doubt in my mind that he was wrong. Old stories usually turned out to be right, in my experience.


	7. Chapter 7

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"Hey if I get my license…" Jacob started.

"You should visit sometime." I said. He seemed nice.

Percy walked over to me and asked if I was ready to go. I nodded stiffly.

Once we got back, I slammed the door to the truck and hurried inside. Charlie was watching a basketball game, and asked us how our day was. I answered, and dragged Percy to my room. I locked the door.

"Vampires," I said. "They're vampires."

"Who?" Percy asked.

"The Cullens and the Hales. They're vampires. Jacob, that boy who's the son of Charlie's friend was telling me some old legends, and he said that they're vampires." I said. Percy seemed shocked.

"Well, it's just a story, right?" he asked.

I gave him a look, and he sat down on the mattress. "Yeah, I know that sounds stupid." He said.

"We're technically just an old story, but that doesn't make us any less real," I shot back.

He nodded, agreeing with me. "So are they dangerous?" he asked.

"From what Jacob said, not really. They apparently drink animal blood instead of human blood. He said that that's what makes their eyes gold, instead of red. And other than that, they try to do their best to blend in." I sat next to him, then leaned back and rested my head against the wall. "Percy, what do we do now?"

"I don't know." He answered.

We just sat there for about half an hour more before he gets up to go to bed. I get ready for bed too, but I know I couldn't sleep. My mind is spinning. So vampires are fast, based on how quickly Edward got to me. They're cold, almost like ice. These ones don't drink human blood, but I'm sure some do. What can kill them? A stake through the heart? Beheading? Could my celestial bronze do the trick? I get up and go to my drawer, knowing I had my crystal in there somewhere. I finally found it, hidden underneath some jeans. I shone a flashlight up and twisted the crystal around until I saw the rainbow.

"Oh goddess, please accept my offering," I said as I tossed my drachma into the rainbow. It didn't hit the floor, so it worked. "Show me Chiron, of camp half blood, new York." I said. The image shimmered, and I saw him eating his dinner in a room. He looked surprised but pleased to see me.

"Meda," he said warmly, "how are you?"

"I'm fine thanks," I said, "but I've encountered something here I don't have experience with."

He smiled at that. "That's surprising, go on."

"They're vampires," I said. His eyes widened.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded and explained to him the Quileute legend Jacob told me. He nodded, his eyebrows drawing closer and closer together.

"So can they be killed? How?" I asked.

"I will have to do more research." He said. "But, if you need to, use the bronze. It can harm or kill almost anything that is not mortal."

I nodded and sighed. "But they're acting almost human," I said.

"So for now, just ignore them, be polite when you need to. But don't provoke anything." He said seriously.

"I won't. But please tell me if you get any more information." I asked. He agreed and we ended the conversation.

The next day was Sunday, and all Percy and I did was homework. The day turned out to be sunny, so Percy and I couldn't give that up. He brought out an old deflated rubber ball, and then I got my bow and arrows. For the next few hours, Percy threw the ball in the air and I tried to shoot it. I got it more times than I didn't, hitting the ball about 80 or 90% of the time. We were laughing, and then we heard the distinctive sound of hooves hitting grass behind us and the neigh of a horse. Percy and I turned around and saw a Pegasus standing in the back lawn of the house. Finally, some excitement!

_Hurry, we have to go, _the horse said. _There's a big drakon in the woods, and it has to be stopped!_

At that moment I wasn't so happy to just get of target practice.

I sighed, then Percy and I climbed on the horse and then they took off. As the only demigods in this area that I knew of, it was kind of up to us to stop any monsters. And the last drakon I remember was the one Clarisse stopped in New York. We found out that this Pegasus is a female, and is very young. She was drawn to us after she saw the drakon, and knew that we would be the ones who could stop it. I started calling her Estella, after that character in great expectations. She was beautiful. Eventually, she set us down in a patch of woods and we thanked her. She flew off, too scared to go farther.

Then we heard the roar. It was a lot like the last drakon, with scales, fangs, poison spewing from its mouth, and a snakelike body. And it was coming our way-fast. I knew that we could beat it, with our partial invincibility, but it would be difficult. Percy had to hide behind his shield to get away from the worst of the poison it let out just then, and I ran away, trying to distract it from Percy. Then I saw a house, its large windows shiny in the sunlight. I cursed to myself, I couldn't go any further, I'd have to go back and run another way. I turned around, just in time to see the powerful tail swinging towards me. It hit me right across the chest, and sent me high up in the air, towards the house. That's when I know I was going to crash through the window unless some god prevents me. I don't get that luck. The glass breaks easily away and I roll backwards and land kneeling on one foot and a knee. I look up to see that the house is thankfully, empty, and draw my bow.

Percy is trying his best to avoid the poison, and I wait for the moment to blind the drakon.

"Hey! Over here!" I yell in an effort to get it to face me. It works, and I pray in that moment to Artemis and Apollo that the shot will land in the eye. It does, and the creature screams in pain. I run and launch myself out of the window and onto the ground two stories below. I take advantage of the confusion the creature is in and throw one small dagger at its snout. It screams again, and Percy is able to sneak on the blind side and stab it on the paw, under a scale. And so it goes on, us weakening it until I am able to jump onto its back, pull out my pencil knife, and stab it truly in the back, shoulder, wherever I can get a blade in. Percy is also working on stabbing it in the neck, and after what seems like forever, the drakon dies. Percy and I give it a distance and watch as it dissolves slowly into the white powder all monsters turn into.

We high fived and saw that a talon of the drakon remained. Percy urged me to get it because I was the one who blinded it. I picked it up, and then called out to Estella. While we were waiting for her, I looked at the window I crashed through.

"Hey Percy, do you have any scrap paper on you?" I asked. It would be rude to leave without apologizing to the owners. And it was a nice house too. Percy patted his pockets until he found an old pop quiz he got a C on in Spanish. I tore off his name and grabbed a sharpie from my pocket. Apologies, I wrote on the paper, and stuck it in the door. Hopefully that would be enough, but they seemed rich anyways. The house was beautiful, and I was sad I ruined it. Oh well, it could be replaced.

Estella came, and Percy and I went back to Charlie's house. We went to the front, and saw him in the kitchen drinking a glass of juice. He had a double take when he saw us, with our torn clothes, and hair filled with dirt and leaves.

"Is that from the…. Half-blood stuff?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah," I said. "But don't worry, nobody was hurt."

He nodded and waved us upstairs, probably wanting us to clean up. "Teenagers," he muttered under his breath.

Percy and I laughed at that, and then we got cleaned up. That night was stuffed pizza for dinner, and I don't think I could have been happier. Later, when I was doing the dishes, I got an iris message from Chiron. He said that vampires could be killed by celestial bronze.

"How did you find that out?" I whispered.

"I have a colleague in Minnesota. The vampires usually keep quiet, and try not to attract too much attention. But, it is possible to kill them through bronze. Then, you have to burn the pieces." He looked at me seriously. I nodded to show that I understood.

"Meda," he warned. "They're fast. Really fast."

"I'm fast too," I whispered, trying not to disturb Percy and Charlie. They were doing some sort of male bonding ritual that involved watching a sport or something.

"No, they're very fast." He stressed.

"So. Am. I." I said, enunciating each word. I knew what he meant, but I was kind of made and trained to fight. I was half god for crying out loud!

"Just…be careful," he said.

I assured him I would, and ended the message. That night I told Percy what Chiron told me, and we decided to act as normally around them as possible. That dream was different. I was on a wire, high above a chasm. There was Percy, Charlie, Annabeth, Chiron, and countless others were watching me silently. I put one foot out in front of the other, knowing that I had to do this, I had to cross. Then suddenly my foot didn't have a wire underneath it, and I was falling down, down, down until my eyes snapped open at the beeping of my clock.


	8. Chapter 8

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I shut off my clock and tried to figure out what to do. As Chiron said, I shouldn't provoke something, and I was sure that they would not kill anyone around, because they're supposed to feed off animal blood. I could either ignore him, or carry on as I was doing. I was unsure about the first one. He and his family were all interesting. His father was even a doctor, and Charlie seemed to like him. I decided to carry on what I was doing after some thinking. What was the worst that could happen? I only had a few years left, why not live dangerously. And, Edward and his family weren't actively trying to kill me, and I couldn't say that about too many non-humans. I rolled out of my bed and got ready for the day.

It was sunny again, which was a blessing, but it wasn't too warm. I also had to wear long sleeves that ended at my wrists, not because I was excessively modest, but because I didn't really want to explain all of the scars I got before I found out that salt water healed me.

Charlie called out a goodbye as Percy and I were eating breakfast. He left a bit earlier than usual, I noticed.

Percy and I pulled into the lot with the rest of the student population. It seemed as if everyone was happy for the sun, and many people were wearing half sleeves and even shorts. That day in math, Jessica asked me if I would go help her pick out a dress in Port Angeles. I asked Percy if he minded, and he encouraged me to go. I guess he also didn't want to seem too clingy, and I decided that I would. All she talked about afterwards was the dance, even continuing onto lunch. As we walked into the cafeteria, I glanced towards the Cullen's table, and saw that it was empty. I was disappointed, because I was curious. Percy saw me glance down, and as we were getting our food, leaned down and whispered "maybe the sunlight burns them."

I laughed, feeling stupid that I didn't think of it before. "Gods I feel dumb," I whispered back.

"It's no different from your usual," he said. I poked his side, and he feigned being injured. He said that he had to go to the office for something, and I met up with him in gym.

Edward wasn't in biology either, and that day in gym, the teacher had to lecture us on the rules of badminton, because there were a few injuries the week before. So pretty much all I had to do that class was sit and pretend to listen. When we were leaving, Percy suddenly clapped his hands over my eyes.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I stopped walking and tried to get his hands off my face.

"Meda, just trust me on this, okay?" he asked.

I stopped struggling and he walked me forward, still keeping my eyes closed.

"You can open them now," he said as he lifted his hands.

There, in the bed of the truck, was Tyson! I squealed as he jumped out and gave me a hug that would've cracked my ribs if I wasn't invincible.

"Oh my gosh!" I said, grinning, "my little brother got me my baby brother!" people were staring at him, mostly because of his height, and the fact that nobody was screaming in horror told me that his eye was covered by the mist, and people saw two eyes, not one.

"We're twins, Meda," Percy said. We'd had this argument many times before.

"Time is money, little bro," I said as Tyson let me down. On the ride home, he talked about his work in the forges, and all of the great armor he was making. He got a promotion, and his stick he got from Zeus was working very well for him. I was surprised at the fact that Charlie's car was in the driveway, and when I walked in, there was a large welcome sign, and two cakes were being unwrapped by Charlie.

He smiled as we came in the room, and I turned around and slapped Percy on the shoulder. A metallic clang echoed through the room.

"You two did this?" I asked.

"Yes, we did," Charlie said, grinning at my reaction. "You were doing so well, and Percy told me how you missed him. So I thought that we could surprise you."

I went forward and hugged Charlie tightly. I did feel guilty for not telling him how much I loved him, and for not seeing him so much after the divorce and before the prophecy.

We spent the rest of the day watching TV, eating cake and drinking soda. Tyson ate one whole cake and four liters of mountain dew, and even had one large jar of peanut butter. Percy and I didn't have homework, because we worked on it over the weekend.

But it couldn't have lasted forever, because that night he was called back to the forge on an emergency. I was disappointed that I didn't get to spend more time with him, but he was doing something he loved, and why would I stop him from that? We all piled into my truck as we drove to the beach at la push again, and we said our goodbyes. Tyson ran into the sea, and gave us one last wave before he disappeared under the waves. Charlie shook his head. I assumed it was difficult for him to see the work of the gods' right in front of his eyes. Percy said that Paul, (I still call him blowfish in my head) had some difficulty adjusting, but took it remarkably well after he saw the battle of New York.

On the ride back I talked to Charlie about going to Port Angeles for dresses with a couple of girls from school, he agreed to let me go. I promised him that I could take care of myself, and for a moment, he seemed sort of sad. But then he cheered up for the rest of the drive.

That night I was happy. I saw Tyson, and I thought about how lucky I was to have people who loved me. It really made up for the first 10 years or so of my life, when I didn't have anybody. The next day was the day of the trip, and it was even better because Lauren, a girl I didn't like who was going on the trip, canceled at the last minute because of other obligations. I climbed into Jessica's car after saying goodbye to Percy. He warned me to keep an eye out for anything, and I assured him I would. Jessica and Angela were talking happily as we exited the town limits.

Jessica drove much faster than Charlie, so the drive to Port Angeles didn't take as long as I expected. She drove straight into the department store and headed to the dresses, not wasting any time on the boardwalk. The sea being so close by was comforting, and I could hear the calming background noise even in the store. They chose their dresses quickly, and their shoes and jewelry even quicker. I guess there was something to be said about the limited choices. In New York, dress shopping could take days.

Not that I'd ever want to get a dress.

Jessica and Angela talked about taking a walk on the boardwalk, but I told them instead I wanted to go find a bookstore. The forks library was severely limited, and this was really my first chance to find a decent supply of books. The end of the workday traffic was light, and I walked down the street until I found a promising looking store.

But, the woman was standing in front of many dream catchers, crystals, and books on spiritual healing. I decided that could wait for many years, I hoped.

I headed further down the street, looking for another one. The town really was pretty, and as the sun set, the traffic got lighter and a bit colder. I zipped up my jacket, glad I had the foresight to bring it. As I turned the corner, four men were right there and surprised, I stepped to the right to let them pass. They were laughing, and as I passed, one called out.

"Hey there," he said. I turned around, and he must have been talking to me, because there was nobody else.

"Hello," I said calmly, staring at him with a hard look on my face. They laughed and kept walking. I continued down the sidewalk, glad that got over with. As I turned another corner, I was disappointed. There was a bit of sidewalk, but all there was in front of me was the back of a warehouse, from the looks of it, abandoned. I sighed, and felt my pocket as my phone vibrated. It was a text from Charlie, saying that Renee was getting worried I hadn't answered her last letter, and that I have to do that when I get back. I learned that I could have a phone if I only received texts, not sent them out. Renee also knew this, and wanted to keep in touch with letters, something that wouldn't attract monsters. I read the text and turned around.

To my surprise, there were two men about twenty feet away from me. They looked like the ones I passed on the street before, but from the looks of their faces, they didn't want any money. I wasn't even carrying my purse. I quickly tried to shift the mist away from them, so I could see what they really looked like, and there was no mist. I thought to my pocketknife, the steel one that could harm mortals, and remembered that it was still in my nightstand. Oh well. I guess I would have to use my hands on them.

The other two came from the other side, closing in, backing me into the corner. I moved; glad to have the shadows so I wouldn't disturb the other mortals. They seemed happy that I was backing up into the dead end. I could see them almost perfectly in the darkness, my eyes adjusting to it better than any human's eyes could do. They kept coming, and I knew what they wanted, knew that my suspicion in the beginning was being proved right.  
"There you are," one of the guys said. "We were looking for you, sugar." He stepped closer, teeth gleaming in a grin.

I threw my head back and started laughing.


	9. Chapter 9

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They all looked shocked. I laughed and laughed, wiping tears out of my eyes.

"Did you honestly think you could do what you want to do, to me?" I asked. They were silent, staring at the freak show that was in front of them. "Oh my gods," I said quietly looking at them in wonder, "why didn't I just blow you all up when I had the chance? How can you then try to rape me?" I asked. They stayed silent, probably wondering why I was saying those things, but the anger boiled up in me so strongly. For the good of humanity Meda, I thought bitterly. You had to save them. It was your responsibility.

One advanced toward me and I punched him in the neck. I learned years ago not to hit someone's face, the bones would hurt you. The soft neck often hurt more because then they had trouble breathing. He went down and the other guys backed off when they saw the look on my face. I stood there, over the body of the wheezing man, and I felt so empty inside.

"Meda!" I heard my name is called. I turned around and saw Edward walking smoothly towards me. Smile, friendly, I told myself, ignoring the loud breathing of the man.

"Hey, didn't know you were here," I said as he caught up to me. He suddenly grabbed my arm and was marching away from the place where the men had cornered me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered. "Are you?"

"No. please do me a favor and distract me," he said stiffly.

"You should calm yourself." I said.

He laughed without humor, and kept walking until we reached a silver Volvo, and he opened the door for me. I climbed in, (in hindsight, it was thoughtless) and he was on the other side and starting the engine in what seemed like less than a second. He drove like a maniac through the streets, and I realized after a minute that he was going to the restaurant Jessica and Angela and I agreed to meet at. I wondered how he knew that, and decided that today, I would pry the answers to the questions I have out of him.

He opened the door for me, and I climbed out of the car cautiously. "What are you doing?"

"Taking you to dinner," he said with a dry smile.

Shiiiiit. Did he expect me to kill someone and drink their blood? Did I need to give him my blood to drink? He motioned to the restaurant and I was glad it was normal eating. Jessica and Angela stepped out of the door at that moment and took a double take when they saw who I was with.

"Where have you been?" Jessica demanded.

"I got lost, and then I ran into Edward," I lied smoothly. She seemed to believe it, and Edward then said something about making sure I eat. Jessica and Angela agreed to go, and have Edward drive me back. He ushered me into the restaurant. Because it was a weekday, it was pretty empty.

The waitress was very flustered as she took us to our seats. I wondered why I couldn't be like that when I was in the presence of his gorgeousness. He smiled when she showed us to our seats, and she was mumbling incoherent words as she walked away. I felt sorry for her. I was glad though, that his beauty did not do that to me. I would never want to show such weakness. He insisted that I order something, so I ordered a coke and mushroom ravioli when the server came out. The server was also female, and was…dazzled; there was no other word for it, really, by Edward's beauty.

I put my palms together and rested my chin on my thumbs. I was wondering what to say. I opened my mouth, really just going to say "boo! Vampire!" but I had a feeling that that wouldn't go over so well. Instead, I put my hands down and asked, "How was your weekend?"

"Interesting," he said with a smile. He looked devastating when he smiled. "We went camping all weekend, and when we came home, we found that somebody threw a rock in one of our windows. They even left an apology note in the front door, surprisingly."

I carefully kept my face blank, but on the inside I was having a minor meltdown. So it was his house I crashed through. But what was I supposed to say? "Hey I just wanted to let you know I somersaulted through your window when I was fighting a mythical monster!" I tried to push the thought out of my mind. If you can convince yourself it never happened, it made lying easier because you think it's somehow the truth.

"That was nice of them. I hope they didn't cause too much damage," I said.

"They didn't. Actually, we never found the rock. They must have picked it up or something," he seemed worried.

"Maybe it was a wizard. Harry potter style wizard," I said.

He just stared at me.

"What?" I asked. It was making me mildly uncomfortable.

"I'm waiting for you to go into shock," he admitted after a couple seconds.

"Oh please, don't think too poorly of me," I said. "I've been through worse. When I was younger, all of the older kids would set up fights between the younger kids and bet on who would win."

He looked vaguely disgusted. "That's horrible."

"Well after a while let's just say people learned to bet on me," I said, staring at him. He should know that I'm not weak.

The cokes and my meal arrived and he stared at me. The food smelled really delicious, and I started eating.

"I do have questions, you know." I said.

"Go ahead," his voice was steady and measured.

"Why are you in  
port Angeles?" I asked.

"next." He said.

I stared at him, making sure that he knew that I wouldn't budge until I got my information.

"I followed you," he said on a sigh.

"Why?" I asked.

"I worry about you," he said after some time.

I was puzzled. Why would anyone worry about me? I could fight, verbally and physically, I was strong, I could take care of myself. My stomach dropped as I realized that this may complicate the hope I had for joining the huntresses.

"You eat, and I'll talk," he said. I put ravioli into my mouth and motioned him to continue.

"It's difficult, keeping tabs on you. I can usually find someone easily once I've listened to their mind before. Yes, I can read minds," he added as an afterthought. I immediately thought of every single curse word, Greek and English that I knew.

"When I realized you left Jessica and Angela, I went to the bookstore I saw in her head, but you weren't there. Then I heard what they were thinking." He stopped there, looking at me. "What did you mean about blowing them up?" he asked after a while.

"Why don't you read my mind?" I asked.

"I can't. You or your brother's. They're both completely silent to me." He said. I wondered if it was because I'm a half blood.

"Has that ever happened before?" I asked.

"No," he said. "Are you ready to go home?" he asked.

I nodded, and drank the last of the coke. He paid, and I got up and followed him to his car. He opened the passenger door for me, and I stared at him until he got the hint and went to the driver's side. I slammed the door shut, opened it again, and got in. he was laughing as I buckled my seatbelt.

"I still have more, you know." I said.

He nodded, and didn't seem pleased.


	10. Chapter 10

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"So I was at the beach a couple weekends ago and I was talking to my friend Jacob black. He said that you and your family are vampires. Is that true?" there was really no sense beating around the bush.

He laughed loudly. "You really don't waste time, do you?" he asked.

"I don't have time to waste," I said to myself, looking out the window.

"Yes, it's true," he said slowly. "What are you thinking?"

"It really doesn't matter," I said.

"It doesn't matter if I'm a monster? If I'm not human?" he asked incredulously.

"No, not really. Do you kill people?" I asked.

"Not for a while." He said.

"Deal drugs?"

"No,"

"Hell bent on world domination or destruction?"

"No,"

"Then we're good," I said. But after I stopped talking, I had more questions. "Burned by the sun?"

"Myth, but I shouldn't come out in the sun."

"Sleep in coffins?"

"I can't sleep," he said.

"Oh that sucks. Or rocks, I don't know."

"Don't you care about my diet?" he asked almost bitterly.

"Yeah, Jake said something about that, you don't eat humans?" I asked.

"They have a long memory," he said. "But sometimes, we make mistakes. I'm making one right now, in fact."

"This is a mistake?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Why hunt animals instead of people?" I asked.

He was silent, but then answered after a couple seconds. "I don't want to be a monster, he said. Of course, animals aren't enough. We compare it to living on tofu and soy milk, we call ourselves vegetarians, an inside joke."

"That's nice, not killing people," I said. "Were you eating animals this weekend?"

"Yes," he said. He left it at that. I looked at the speedometer, and saw that he was going a hundred miles an hour. I briefly thought about saying something, but decided against it. If we crashed, I'd be fine.

"Are you going to be in class tomorrow?" I asked. I didn't think it would be sunny tomorrow.

"Yes, I have a paper due, you know." He smiled. We arrived in forks in about twenty minutes.

Somehow, he knew the way to Charlie's house, which I found slightly disturbing, but let it go. Just in case, I made a mental note to hide all of my normal weapons under the bed.

"Sleep well," he said as I got out of the car.

"You too," I said with a grin.

I let myself into the house, and Percy was surprised that I was back by 7:30. I dragged him upstairs again and told him about what had happened. Not surprisingly, he was most upset by my punching a man in the neck and talking about blowing him up.

"I wish we could have blown him up though," he said after I finished.

"He'll get what's coming to him after he dies," I said. Percy seemed to be looking forward to that, at least.

"So they really don't kill people? And he can read minds?" he asked after a short pause.

"Well, it seems like they have a conscience. And yeah, he can read minds, except ours. Maybe he can only read human and vampire minds." I said. I also explained that I crashed into his house over the weekend.

"Well, that's great, about the mind reading stuff. I don't really think he'd want to know what goes on in my mind," Percy said.

"Ew! I don't need to know either, especially if it involves Annabeth!' I hit him with a pillow and he turned bright red.

"Not like that, you perv," he said, hitting me back. I went on the offensive, driving him out of my room eventually.

The next day, Percy and I were running late, and we hurried into our English class with a minute to spare. Jessica immediately started peppering me with questions, and after a while, I was so annoyed I told her that until she chooses a topic of conversation I cared about, she shouldn't talk to me. She looked absolutely shocked. I guessed bluntness was a new concept around forks. I also realized that I liked Angela more than Jessica. She was polite and quiet, while Jessica was rude and loud. I didn't think Percy was all too fond of the mortal company. They weren't all that bad, but they weren't all that good, either.

Lunch started out normally, but after a few minutes Percy nudged me and gestured to Edward sitting alone at a table. "Let's go," he said. "I'm tired of them." I understood what he was feeling. We gathered our stuff and walked over to his table. I felt the stares on our backs, but I'd been the new girl enough that I'd gotten used to it. Edward gave us a smirk as we sat across from him.

"You know they're all staring at outright?" he asked.

"Oh really, I hadn't noticed," I said dryly, continuing to eat my pizza. I looked up and saw his family looking as well. The blonde girl looked furious, but everyone else was either neutral or amused. The short girl with a pixie cut looked incredibly happy.

"Is that any good?" Edward asked looking at my pizza.

"Well, it's not an angry grizzly," I responded.

Both Edward and Percy laughed. Edward glanced back at the rest of his family.

"They're not too happy," he said.

"Oh that's too bad. I've always wanted to make sure your vampire family approved of us." I said.

"Meda," Percy said in an effort to get me to shut up.

"What? We can't all be as polite and long suffering as you," I said.

He put his head in his hands. "How in the world did I ever get a sister like you?" he moaned, mostly to himself.

"Well, once upon a time, our father saw our mother, probably walking along the beach or something like that, you know how he is, and he thought to himself, 'wow, that is one nice looking….'" Percy cut me off by covering my mouth.

"No," was all he said.

I uncovered my mouth. "Get to class, idiot, you're going to be late," I said. The cafeteria mostly empty and I dumped my tray and went to biology.

After we sat down, Edward asked me a difficult question.

"What did you mean about your parents meeting on the beach? You said something about the way your father is?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," I said. I decided to go with my most used tactic. Telling 90% truth with a smile so nobody could believe it. "My father goes by Poseidon. You know, god of the seas, and the beach, sea," I waved my hands around so he could get it.

"Your father's name is Poseidon?" Edward asked. I imaged Percy having a heart attack.

"No, I said he goes by Poseidon." I said.

"Then what's his name?"

"Um… Carl, maybe…. Timothy. Richard is a good guess. I've only ever met him a couple times." I nodded.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"What about your parents?" I asked. The class was still settling in.

"They died many years ago," he said.

"I'm sorry," I responded.


	11. Chapter 11

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Mr. Banner just had us watch a movie for that class; I practically napped through it, only to be woken up when the lights turned on. I let out a huge yawn, and Edward looked at me and started laughing.

"Ready for gym?" he asked.

"Ugh," was all I responded, still wishing I could sleep another few minutes. Or days. I looked at him and he was still laughing, maybe the friends thing could work out for us a bit. He started walking with me partway to gym, and I told him that Percy knew.

"Why did you tell him?" he asked. He didn't look angry or sad, just curious and a little resigned.

"He's my brother," I said. "I tell him everything."

"How did he take it?"

"Fine, he's tougher than you give him credit for," I said.

He nodded, and didn't say anything else. I met Percy and we got ready for gym. We were still doing badminton, which should have been classified as a crime against humanity. Apparently we would switch to soccer in about two weeks, something else I was not looking forward to.

Mike asked me about Edward and me. I told him to mind his business.

"But he looks at you like you're something to eat," he continued.

I laughed out loud, and ignored his glower. That day when I got home, I tried to do a five page essay in three hours, and didn't succeed. I got to about page four before my brain refused to work anymore. I then killed about half an hour by inspecting my weapons. I pried up the loose floorboard from under my bed, the place where I kept all of the weapons after I discovered Edward knew where I lived. I had a trident, bow, box filled with throwing knives, and daggers. I sharpened all of the throwing knives, killing another half hour. After I was finished, they were so sharp I thought I could cut myself on them.

That night at dinner Charlie questioned us about the upcoming dance. Well, he mostly questioned me; he knew Percy already had a girlfriend. I thought that that would be a good time to tell them.

"Actually, I wanted to tell you both something." I said,

"Okay," Charlie answered picking up on my serious tone.

"I'm kind of thinking about joining the huntresses of Artemis," I said.

"What?" Percy shouted.

"What's that?" Charlie asked.

"I am thinking about joining the goddess Artemis' group of huntresses. Many are demigods, even nymphs. They are immortal, unless they fall in battle, and they are virgins for eternity," I said.

"You're going to leave me?" Percy said. He reminded me of Nico when he found out his sister had joined the huntresses.

"Relax; I'm just thinking about it. And I'll wait until I'm 19 or 20," I said. Assuming I live that long, I thought. "I want to do mortal stuff, like graduating high school, maybe a year or so of college," I said.

"So you'll live forever?" Charlie said.

"Unless I'm killed in a fight." I said matter-of-factly.

Percy stomped up to his room and slammed the door without saying a word.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked.

"No! I just said I'm thinking about it, that's all." I said. "I don't know why Percy's getting so angry."

"I think he's afraid you'll leave him. You've only known each other such a short time," Charlie said.

"Which is why I haven't made up my mind," I said. "It's not for the immortality. We were offered that after we fulfilled the prophecy. I want a few more years of as normal as possible, but I like hunting down monsters and helping people. I could do that forever as a huntress."

"And no boys," Charlie said.

"I've gone 16 years without them; I can go another 16, then another 32, and so on." I said.

He nodded, stood up and left the table. I considered talking to Percy and decided against it. He would calm down eventually.

The next morning he refused to talk to me. At first I was worried, but decided to give him more time. Percy slammed the door of the truck and hurried to his class. I stayed in the car, trying to fight back tears and rubbing my temples. I was so tired, and a little angry too.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked. I jumped up and saw him looking at me with a worried expression.

"Nothing, we just had a fight." I said. I got out of the car and locked it.

"What was it about?" he asked.

I couldn't tell him the entire truth, but I kept the main points of the story. "I want to do something, in a couple years, and he doesn't want me to. He says that if I did do something, I'd be abandoning him. I love him, I really do, and it's just… I want to do this for myself. I've always had to do things for other people, and I want to do this for me." I said.

"I understand. If you explain it to him, I'm sure he'll come around," Edward said.

"I'll just let him calm down," I said as I entered my first class.

Percy kept up the silent treatment all day. It got annoying, but I didn't say anything. I had a feeling that it was going to be a huge blowup fight, and I didn't want to do it in school.

I was actually thankful for biology, thankful I wouldn't have to keep remembering to ignore him. Mr. Banner just showed the second half of the video, and I napped through that as well. I sent out a prayer to anyone that was listening to help Percy see that I wasn't out to leave him. Mr. Banner then took it upon himself to assign a project about the evolution theory at the end of class. It was pretty much just an essay, but he said that we could work in partners or alone.

"What do you say, partner?" Edward asked me.

"Alright. Never really been one for evolution, but whatever. Could you come by after school today?" I said. I really didn't want to go to his house after I crashed through the window.

"Sure," he said.

Gym was more of the same, and Percy kept up the silent treatment. As soon as we got in the car, I yanked the car key out of his hand.

"Could you give me five minutes?" I said.

"I've only known you a few years and you want to leave!" Percy cut right to the point.

"I don't want to leave; I want to make a difference in the world!" I said. "I've always had to do things for other people, and this is for me! Don't you understand that?" I said.

"But you're my sister!" he said.

"And you're my brother, but if you want to do something, I'm not going to stop you! We are two different people, you know!" I said.

"I know, I'm sorry," Percy said after a few seconds. "I get what you're trying to say."

"And I just said I was thinking about it. I don't know if I'll actually do it," I said.

"Yeah. Hey can I have the keys?" Percy said.

I chucked them at his head and he started the car. I told him that Edward was going to come over so he had to be nice.

"I'm always nice," he said.

"No, you're really not." I said back. Edward parked in the driveway and followed us into the house. Percy went to work on the English essay I'd finished before him, and I cleared away the table for Edward. He set out his books while I rummaged in the kitchen for food.

We worked like that for a couple hours. Percy warmed up to Edward after they found out that they both disliked the English teacher.

"Charlie's going to be back soon," Edward said casually in the middle of writing a paragraph.

"How do you know that?" Percy asked.

"I can read minds, Meda told you, didn't she?"

"Oh yeah. I wonder why you can't read ours," Percy said.

"I don't know. But it's very calming, not having to tune out people's voices. It's the first silence I've had in about a century," he said.

"Century?" I asked.

He looked sheepish, like he shouldn't have told us that. "Yeah," he said quietly.

I nodded. "That's cool."


	12. Chapter 12

haha sorry I've not been updating recently, I used to do a chapter or two a day! but thank you for all of your faves, story follows, and kind reviews. I love them very much.

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Suddenly Edward slammed the book shut and gathered his stuff quickly around him.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'll finish the paper tonight," he said.

"What's wrong?" I repeated more sternly.

"Complications," he said as he rushed out the door.

I got up and followed him to the door. He threw his car into reverse, and sped away. After a couple seconds Charlie's cruiser pulled into the driveway. Behind it as a small black car with two men in it. I recognized Jacob from the beach, and I assumed that the man next to him was Billy, his father. It had been years since I'd seen him, and his face was filled with more lines than I remembered. When he got out of the car I was surprised to see him in a wheelchair.

Jacob and his father greeted Percy and me, and Charlie took his shoes off.

"Who just left?" he asked.

"Edward Cullen," Percy said.

"Why was he here?" Billy said in a gravelly voice that matched his face. He sounded almost angry, but his face betrayed nothing.

"We're lab partners, and needed to finish a paper," I said.

Billy nodded, but didn't seem pleased. I looked at him more closely, and wondered if he believed the story his son was so quick to blow off. He looked at me and I saw that he did.

All of that took place in one second of time.

The three guys joked about staying to watch the basketball game, because Billy's TV had broken last week. I went into the kitchen and started heating up some rice and fried chicken for my dinner. Jacob followed me into the kitchen, asking me questions about school, and if I had made any friends. I told him about some of the people, and had to tell him about the spring dance fiasco, on my side and Percy's. He thought it was hilarious.

"Hey I'm sorry about my dad," he said suddenly.

"Why?" Percy asked as he came in. "hey that looks good, thanks Meds," he said as he tried to grab my food. I brandished the knife at him threateningly, and he held his hands up in mock surrender.

"He's gotten weirder about the Cullens," Jacob said.

"I haven't met all of them, so I wouldn't know, but Edward's pretty nice," I said.

"The blonde girl always looks angry, though," Percy said. "That's a shame, because she's really good looking."

"Percy, there's only one blonde girl you should be thinking about," I said.

"Hey I can look at the menu, I just can't order," he said.

Jacob and I laughed as I started eating my food. The rest of the evening passed quickly and pleasantly. Percy told that he was making good progress on his essay, and was almost finished. I made a mental note to work on it tomorrow so I could say I beat him.

I went to bed early that night, tired as usual. The curse always keeps you tired, Chiron had said over the summer.

The next day I woke up and wondered if Edward left because he could hear Billy and Jacob coming. It was a Friday, and the next day Charlie had said that he wanted to go fishing. It was nice that he always let the fish go after he caught them, instead of killing them. But I could still eat seafood, my conscience never bothered me.

We went to school as usual, and Edward met us by our car. I was glad to see that they were becoming friends as well, sometimes I worried that Percy had so few male friends.

At lunch it was the same, Percy and I sitting with Edward in the middle of the cafeteria. People had stopped staring at us, which was a nice change. Edward asked us about our lives before forks, and we did have to gloss over most of it. He was surprised that we only knew each other for about four years.

"Watch my stuff," Percy said. He walked over to the bathroom, and I took the opportunity. I took his stuff out of his backpack and turned his backpack inside out. I put all of the stuff back in, and zipped it up.

"Why are you doing that?" Edward asked as I was working.

"Why shouldn't I? He's my brother," I said.

"Isn't it…. A bit childish?" he said.

"Hate to break it to you, but everyone has a part of them that stops maturing at age 12. This is my part," I said proudly as I looked at my handiwork.

He looked at me with an unreadable expression. At that moment I felt eyes on me, and looked around. Edward's sister, the blonde one named Rosalie, was glaring at me. The smart thing would be to look down and finish eating.

But when was I ever smart?

I smiled and waved back, and she looked down and away in disgust.

Edward looked at me, shocked. "Why did you do that?"

"Why not?" I said with a shrug. He looked disgusted with me as well. I smiled.

"What?" Percy said as he snuck up behind me. He had seen his backpack, and was looking furious. I started laughing, and after some time, he joined me as well. The bell rang, so he had to go to his next class with an inside out backpack. He tried to hit me with it, but I dodged it easily.

On the way to biology, Edward said something that surprised me.

"My family doesn't hate you; they just wonder why I can't leave you alone." He said.

"I wonder that sometimes too," I replied. Maybe we non humans just sniffed each other out or something.

"I understand human nature," he said. "But you always say and do things that surprise me. You're unlike anyone I've known. Your brother surprises me as well, but you do it more often."

I didn't know what to say to that. Percy had never been in foster care, had never had to fight to be heard and listened to, never had to worry about where his next meal was coming from. Maybe that time had dulled my humanity. I was reckless even as a young child, and now I could say I was even more so. What kind of human willingly hangs out with a vampire, even one that doesn't drink human blood?

There was a little left of the movie to watch, but I stayed up instead of napping, because it wouldn't take the whole period. That day in gym, the coach told us that he would be doing something different for the warming weather, starting an archery course. I shook Percy's arm excitedly, finally, something I was looking forward to! But he didn't seem happy, he was a terrible shot.

But life was nice, peaceful, even. It was fun. That night I did some laundry and heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" I called as I turned the dryer on. It was a mailman, and he had a package in his hand.

"Andromeda Jackson?" he asked.

"That's me," I said.

He handed me the box and turned around. "No charge," he called behind him.

I locked the door behind him. "It was for me, a box of some sort," I said. "Don't worry."

It was a plain cardboard box, slightly heavy, with nothing but my name on it. I turned it over to find a small trident was drawn on in pen. I went to my room, locked my door, opened my window, took the box in my arms and jumped out. I landed on my feet, my knees bending to absorb the shock. By Charlie's house there were some woods and I ran into them, hoping that whatever was in the box wasn't dangerous, and hoping that I could get some privacy. I stopped after about thirty seconds to open the box.

Inside was a trident.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you everybody for reading, I'm sorry I haven't been updating, college finals are coming up soon! Do yourselves a favor and never grow up. but anyway, thank you for reading.**

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It was beautiful, the top part anyway. Bronze, with three wickedly sharp blades in a triangle, with a longer fourth blade in the middle. I lifted it up, wondering if that was it, and why there was no handle. As I lifted it, I heard some soft clicks. I saw that along the shaft, there were little silver hinges that locked the shaft in place as it folded out. It was wonderful, perfectly balanced, and the shaft could be folded down again. I looked in the box, and saw a piece of paper folded into a small square with the letters AJ on it. I unfolded it and my stomach dropped.

Meda-

I finally got the courage to go though some of Beckendorf's things. This trident was in a drawer marked with your name. There was nothing else in the drawer. Sorry not to send it sooner, but I hope you don't mind. The shaft wasn't finished, so I did that part.

Jake

I tried to fight back my tears. Beckendorf had been like a brother to me. I'd only known him since I was 10, but he was so cool. He'd give me piggyback rides, and was always willing to sharpen my knives for me. I'd taught him how to fight with a sword and knives. I went back to the house, climbed the tree and jumped into my room again. Even after he died he was still so great.

I showed it to Percy, and he jokingly wondered why he didn't get one. I shoved him and told him that it was because I knew him better.

Over the weekend, I went to the dance studio I had been eyeing, and landed a job. It was pitiful, only two hours a week on Mondays and Wednesdays, teaching small girls how to stretch and twirl. But, I liked it. It gave me something to do.

Monday's lunch was a surprise, because Edward's sister Alice joined us. She was beautiful, short and graceful, and seemed very happy to meet us. She seemed excited about my job; even though I said it was only two hours a week.

That Thursday, on the way to biology, Edward asked me something that was surprising.

"Do you want to go someplace with me this weekend?" he asked.

"This weekend will be sunny, right?" that's what the forecast said, anyways.

"Yes," he said, looking at me expectantly. I made the connection.

"Will you show what you meant about the sun?" I asked. I admit, I was curious, ever since he said he couldn't be seen, but didn't die either.

He nodded.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"It's a place I go to be alone, it's far away enough that I can't hear anyone except the occasional hiker." He said.

"Is Percy invited?" I asked.

For a split second, I thought I saw annoyance cross his face, but then it was gone. "Of course," he said.

That day in gym, the coach just sat us down and lectured us on archery safety. It was boring, since I had already picked up on the "don't shoot your friends" lecture by the time I was five. Friday was going to be cloudy, not rainy, and it seemed as if we might have a chance.

As Edward met us outside the gym, he asked why I was excited for the archery unit. I guessed he was looking through the minds of others in the class.

"Oh, I've been going to a camp for years, and I'm pretty good at the archery stuff. Percy's terrible; it's all I can do to stop him from shooting another person." I joked.

Percy rolled his eyes, and I took that moment to lob the car keys at him. He caught them just in time, before they hit his face.

Then it started raining- big surprise- and we had to run to the truck to not get soaked. As Percy started up the car, I told him about Edward asking us to see what happened to him in the sun, and if he'd like to go along.

"I don't think I'd be welcome," he said with a smile.

"Why not?" I asked. "You are friends with him, right?" had they fought or gotten in an argument?

"Because I think he'd like to go with you, alone," Percy said with a smirk. I got that.

"Excuse me?" I said. He burst out laughing.

"Everyone with eyes can see it, Meds," he said as we pulled into the driveway. "Look. I'll stay here and do homework and stuff. You go have fun. We deserve some time off, don't we? And you deserve it more than anyone I know."

I admit he did have a point. And why the hell not? I wasn't a huntress yet. And I had saved the world a few times over, hadn't I?

"okay." I said. "But I'm taking the truck."

"Deal," Percy said. He seemed happy.

That night before I went to sleep I asked myself what I was thinking. Could Edward be my….boyfriend? The word was so foreign to me. Other girls had boyfriends, but I could never afford it. Why get attached to someone who would only die? And mortal boys? Forget about it. They would never understand. But Edward isn't mortal, a small voice whispered. No, he wasn't. But I was going to keep my secret as long as possible. I already loved him in a way, in a way that I loved all people, or tried to anyway. He was kind, and above all, he was good. Isn't it heroic that he fights against himself and tries not to eat people, but animals instead?

When I woke up, all I remembered from my dream was beautiful women with daggers covered in blood from head to toe while they burned. I didn't know if the blood was theirs or not. I pushed it out of my mind. If it was important, I would have remembered everything. I decided I'd go tomorrow. That was it. Done.

It was cloudy, but not raining. It was practically the second coming of Jesus Christ if the other student's reactions were anything to go by. The people I hung out with at the beginning of my stay had slowly started ignoring me for the most part. We said hello and made small talk, but that was pretty much it. That day at lunch Edward brought up the subject of his leaving abruptly when Billy came by the other day. He explained that if he had not gone, it would have been awkward. I caught the blonde girl glaring at us a couple more times, which was mildly aggravating. What was her problem?

"Why does your sister always glare at me?" I asked Edward on the way to biology.

"She knows that you know and she doesn't like it. She's worried you'll tell others." He said simply.

"I know how to keep secrets," I said absently as we slid into our chairs. The class started and I was relieved that it was only a lecture. I wrote notes when I needed to, and drifted the rest of the time. Mortal life was so monotonous, but it was nice for a change.

After the class ended Mike came up to me with a smile. "How's it going?" he asked.

"Good, I'm actually excited for gym, can you believe it?" I said. We chatted for the rest of the way about the archery unit. When we got there, the coach split us up into groups of three. There were 10 bows available and we had to take turns. Percy wasn't too happy, I could tell. Angela, the quiet girl joined us. She said that she did this once before at a summer camp, and was a complete failure at it. Percy liked her immediately.

We all took a trek down to the field where the targets were set up from previous classes. I chose one of two recurve bows available. They were my favorite. Angela went first, spectacularly missing her first two shots. I coached her on learning from her past mistakes.

"Your arrow went too far right, didn't it? So move it a bit to the left," I said.

She let her last arrow go, and it stuck in the very edge of the foam target. She smiled happily and went to retrieve the arrows. I went next. We all lined up and I felt myself calm down. Everything that was stressful before drained out of me. I let my first arrow go and it hit the target, on the outermost ring.

"Come on meds, you can do this," Percy encouraged me. I turned around.

"Geez, would you shut up?" I asked. "Distraction."

"Oh are you gonna shoot me?" he asked.

"I just might," I threatened. I let my second arrow go and it hit the ring just outside the bull's eye.

"I get dibs on shooting Edward though," Percy said.

"I wish you'd stop doing that." I told him as I nocked my last arrow.

"Doing what?" Percy asked.

"Making fun of me." I said. He'd been teasing me on and off since yesterday. And I know I did the same for him and Annabeth, but I'd known her for years! She had been my best friend, and Percy and Edward hadn't known each other like that.

"Oh calm down." Percy said as he sat down on the grass on my left side.

"But you're annoying me," I said quietly. I explained what I meant about teasing him and Annabeth because she was my best friend. "And that's why you should shut up." I looked around and realized that everyone was staring at me. "What?" I asked.

"Miss Jackson, are you planning on shooting within the next week?" the coach asked. Some boys laughed.

"Bet she's just stalling, see what I meant? Girls can't do this," some boy laughed.

Girls can't do this. Girls can't do that. I had done more in my life than they could do in hundreds of their lives, and all they thought of me was that I was a girl, less deserving than my brother.

I pulled the string back and drew the bow. I'll show him.

It hit the center of the target. I looked at them with my best "I win" expression.

They stopped laughing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi everybody! finals are coming up for me, and I may only get one or *maybe* two chapters more. I honestly have no end point in mind for this. this is the longest single fanfiction I've stuck with, and I have to thank anybody who's even bothered reading this far. you mean so much to me! I'm also getting my wisdom teeth out in a week, so I'll be unable to write. but enough with my life, here's chapter 14!**

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After that, I hit the center of the target almost every time I had the bow. A few times I hit the ring outside of the center one, but it was still within the yellow zone, so I didn't worry about that. Everybody else stared, and some even looked intimidated. It made me happy. If only we had some knives to throw as well… I mused as I changed in the bathroom.

"you shoot well," Edward said after I exited the gym.

"thank you," I said with a smile. Percy trudged grumpily to the truck. I rolled my eyes.

"shall I meet you at your house tomorrow?" Edward asked.

"sure, but don't come before 9- I'm dead to the world then," I said.

He nodded.

"I won't freak out or anything, I promise." I punched his shoulder lightly.

"I don't think you would," he said quietly as Alice came over and greeted me. Percy started the truck with a roar, and I waved goodbye to her and climbed in.

"you have crap timing," I told him.

"what did I do now?" Percy asked with an eye roll.

"I was talking to Alice, you could have at least waited before you tried to gas us all to death!" I said.

"Well they're already dead, aren't they, so I'd be trying to gas them to death again," Percy said with a grin.

I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against the dashboard. "Wake me up when you've decided to actually be funny," I said. Percy laughed and shook me until I was forced to stop faking sleep. I told him of my theory that the receptionist at the front office was actually a monster- no human could be that incredibly unhelpful, and he agreed with me.

That night I told Charlie of my plan to go out with a friend- thankfully, Percy changed the subject before I had to say which one, or that could have been incredibly embarrassing. Charlie said he was leaving at six in the morning to go fishing, and laughed when Percy and I cringed.

"You're going to let them go, right?" I asked.

"You don't want to be a murderer, do you?" Percy asked.

"I'll let half of them go. But for each one I let go, I'm bringing one back," Charlie said threateningly.

"Noooooooo," I wailed as I went into the kitchen and loaded up the dishwasher.

The guys then watched some sport, with a ball, and were fascinated by it. Sometimes men were so simple, yet so complex.

That night I went through Charlie's medicine cabinet while he was watching TV. I wasn't some kind of druggie who got kicks off prescription medications; I just wanted some cold medicine. I'd been having strange dreams lately, and I wanted to try to see if the sleep aids would help me at all.

Turns out they did. I woke up the next morning without remembering a thing.

It took me some time to realize that it was Saturday, I'd promised Edward I'd go with him in the sun. I groaned and looked at my alarm clock. It was 9:15, and I said I'd meat him at 9:45. I got up and ate my breakfast, and put on jeans and a t-shirt. I had gotten into the habit of keeping my trident in the truck, so I took it out before he came over. That would have been difficult to explain. Of course, I kept my knives in my shoes and my pencils in my pockets. By 9:45 I was armed and ready to go. He still wasn't here yet, so I took my opportunity to barge into Percy's room and shove him out of his bed.

He wasn't too happy with me.

I ran downstairs laughing, with Percy throwing textbooks at me. He wasn't much of a shot though- they went wide by at least a foot every time.

The doorbell rang. Percy stopped throwing things at me- he went from books to empty water bottles- and grinned. "Have fun you two" he said.

I rolled my eyes and opened the door. Edward stood there with a smile on his face, probably hearing what Percy had said.

"Forgive my stupid little brother," I said as I grabbed my coat and the keys. "Finish your homework!" I yelled at Percy as I left.

"Don't tell me what to do!" I heard as I shut the door.

"You two get along well," Edward laughed as we climbed into the truck. He had a pretty laugh.

"We do, actually. He's one of my best friends," I said as I backed out of the driveway. We didn't talk much after that, he gave me directions and I would affirm that I heard them. After a few minutes I got tired of the quiet and turned on a CD a friend gave to me. It was a weird mishmash of songs, but it was good. Finally we entered a dirt road, and there was nothing- I repeat nothing- at the end of it.

"Is there a trail?" I asked.

"There is a ways back, but we're not taking it." Edward said. I shrugged and hopped out. I hoped the trek wasn't too long.

"How long is the hike going to be?" I asked.

"Not long, about five miles." He said.

I could tell that we had different views on what "not long" was. I gestured to the forest. "Lead the way," I said.

We didn't talk much; sometimes he asked me questions about birthdays, elementary school teachers, and pets. Birthdays weren't celebrated too often, school teachers were monsters most of the time, and I'd never had a pet. I did tell him that at the camp I go to over the summer, I met a horse named Blackjack that liked me. Of course I didn't tell him I could talk to him, or that he could fly. That would have been an interesting conversation. He didn't ask questions that I would have to think up complicated lies about, and for that I was thankful. The forest was really beautiful, with large, tall trees and squishy green moss covering almost anything.

After about an hour I was a bit nervous that we'd gotten lost, but he seemed to know where he was going, so I focused on enjoying the scenery. After two hours, I asked grouchily, "Are we there yet?"

He laughed and said that we'd be there soon. "See the brightness ahead?"

"No," I said. Maybe vampires had super vision as well. I imagined Edward shooting lasers out of his eyes and laughed.

He looked at me strangely. But after a minute or so, I did see the brightness. The air had gotten warmer with the sun, and it was really nice. I reached the edge of the clearing and stepped through. It was a meadow, with knee high grass and different types of wildflowers. I could hear a stream nearby, but assumed it was fresh water, since saltwater called to me more than fresh. The sun felt wonderful on my face. I didn't realize that Edward was still in the shade of the trees until I looked for him.

He looked worried.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked. "I won't freak out, I've seen my bone sticking out of my leg before, and it's not that bad, is it?"

He looked less worried and more freaked out now. But he took a deep breath, and stepped out in the sun.

I honestly don't know what I was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn't that.

He sparkled.

He literally sparkled.

Ugh.


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm here now! yay! thanks for reading!**

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"You sparkle?" I asked. I was kind of disgusted.

"That's one way of putting it." Edward said.

"Well I guess it makes sense." I said.

He looked at me strangely.

"Well, you said that you could go in the sun, and it wouldn't kill you, so being burned to death is out of the question. And I can't really think of anything non-lethal but still preventing you from being seen in public but turning into a human shaped disco ball." I said. "But seriously, this makes me feel like I'm in some poorly written teen vampire novel that's going to become a bestseller with a movie deal. Sparkling vampires," I repeated as I finished.

He threw his head back and laughed at that. "You never say what I expect you to say," he said.

"I didn't expect you to sparkle, but here you are," I shot back.

He laughed.

But, I was curious as to what was going on that caused him to sparkle. "May I?" I asked, gesturing to his hand.

He nodded, and offered it to me.

It was cold, but smooth. So glitter activated by the UV rays of the sun was off the list. It was like there was glitter tattooed under his skin. I held a finger up; trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Monsters coming after me after I use my cell phone, I could understand. But sparkling vampires would need some getting used to.

"Everyone does this in the sun?" I asked.

He nodded. "We don't know why, but it does."

I went back to studying the finger. I held it closer to my face, and then suddenly it was ripped away. I saw Edward rush to the shadows outside the meadow, he was a blur, but my eyes could focus on the shape.

"What?" I asked.

"Give me a moment," he called.

I kept sitting, but I felt my hands twitching to my pockets. I'd already figured out that if I had to fight a vampire, knives and arrows would be useless. They moved too fast. I needed a blade on me, in my hand to keep me safe.

After about ten seconds, he walked back, slowly compared to the speed with which he ran away. He stopped, several feet away, and sat gracefully back to the ground. His eyes never left mine. He took a couple deep breaths.

"I am so very sorry." He hesitated. "Would you understand what I meant if I said I was only human?"

I smiled at that joke. I still assessed him as a possible enemy, though. It was difficult to not asses everyone and anything as an enemy. People and objects could hurt you, or could be used as weapons against another threat. The realization of danger sank in. Chiron told me that they were fast, but they could be cut with bronze. Did I have the strength and speed that vampires did?

I suppose Edward could smell or sense my questions and fear from where he sat. His smile turned mocking.

"I'm the world's best predator, aren't I? As if I need any of that!" Unexpectedly, he was on his feet, running away. He appeared beneath the same tree as before, so he'd circled the meadow in half a second. Kudos to him.

"As if you could outrun me," he said bitterly. I didn't think that I could, but if I could get my hands on those tracking arrows…. Sometimes the Apollo cabin had them, arrows that would sense the prey and track them until they hit the target.

But now Edward was putting on a really great show. He reached up with one hand and effortlessly ripped a two-foot-thick branch from the trunk of the spruce. He balanced it in that hand, and then threw it with blinding speed, shattering it against another huge tree.

And he ran so he was in front of me again, standing two feet away.

"As if you could fight me off," he said gently. Why was he being so damn dramatic? I wasn't controlling the stream nearby or flinging my knives around. Granted, I could control the stream, but it was fresh water, and would be more tiring than if it were salt water.

I sat without moving. Then I smiled. "I probably couldn't do either of those things, but wouldn't it have made sense to just ask me that instead of putting on a show? I've had enough drama in my life, thanks."

He looked downright shocked. "How can you?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I can. So get over it. And if you meant to terrify me, I must say it worked," I said. I did feel fear, in that far of piece of me that could still feel that emotion, that one piece that I hadn't shut off, yet. Never once had I encountered something that made me question myself, my abilities. Yes, there were terrifying monsters that could rip me in half. But I always trusted my ability to kill them. I didn't know if I could kill Edward or any other vampire.

"Don't be afraid," he murmured. "I promise..." He hesitated. "I swear not to hurt you."

"You better not," I said.

"Don't be afraid," he whispered again as he stepped closer. He sat just a foot away.

"Please forgive me," he said formally. "I can control myself. But I'm on my best behavior now."

"If you do kill me, I don't think my family will ever forgive you," I said. Another question came to my mind. Could the curse of Achilles work in a fight with a vampire?

"I'm not thirsty today, honestly." He assured me. "And I think of that all the time whenever I'm…tempted. I think that there's not just one life, but many, all of those people touched by that one. And I don't want to hurt them."

"That's good." I responded.

"Are you all right?" he asked me.

"I've had worse, if that's what you mean. I survived that, so I'll get over this. But I wont forget it," I warned.

He nodded. "I should have left long ago," he said suddenly. "I should leave now. But I don't know if I can."

"why do you need to leave?" I asked.

"you," he said. "I crave your company too much to do what I should."

"alright," I said. I really didn't know what that was all about.

"but its not!" He said. "It's not only your company I crave! Never forget that."

"so I've got nice smelling blood?" I guessed, really, it was a shot in the dark.

"You know how everyone enjoys different flavors?" he began. "Some people love chocolate ice cream, others prefer strawberry?"

I nodded.

"Sorry about the food analogy - I couldn't think of another way to explain. You see, every person smells different. If you locked an alcoholic in a room full of stale beer, he'd gladly drink it. But he could resist, if he wished to, if he were a recovering alcoholic. Now let's say you placed in that room a glass of hundred-year-old brandy, the rarest, finest cognac, how do you think he would fare then?"

"he'd have to have very little willpower to even start drinking heavily in the first place," I said. But I knew how persuasive Mr. D could be.

"Maybe that's not the right comparison." Edward said. "Maybe it would be too easy to turn down the brandy. Perhaps I should have made a heroin addict instead."

"So I'm your brand of heroin?" I asked.

He smiled. "Yes, you are exactly my brand of heroin."

"what about Percy?" I asked.

"his blood smells tempting, but yours does even more so," he said. "you smell like the sea, like freedom." That was disturbing.

"that's weird." I said.

"I spoke to my brothers about it." He didn't say if it was weird or not. "To Jasper, he's the blond one; every one of you is much the same. He's the most recent to join our family. It's a struggle for him. He hasn't had time to grow sensitive to the differences in smell," he said. "So Jasper wasn't sure if he'd ever come across someone who was as appealing as you are to me. Emmett, the large one with brown hair, has been on the wagon longer, and he understood what I meant. He says twice, for him, once stronger than the other."

"What did Emmett do?" I asked. I kind of already knew the answer.

his hand clenched into a fist and he looked away.

"ok," I nodded. So he was asking….my permission?

"are you asking my permission?" I asked. "well you don't get it."


	16. Chapter 16

**So I'm posting this chapter now, because I'm going in for wisdom teeth surgery tomorrow. Fun, but i'll be out of it for a couple days. hope you enjoy this, and thanks for reading this far!**

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"No, no!" he said. I'd have to say he looked pretty horrified. "I swore to myself I'd never take a human life."

That was funny; I wondered if there was any wiggle room for us half-bloods?

"so if we met without witnesses, odds are that you would have killed me?" I asked.

"It took everything I had not to jump up in the middle of that class and, yes, kill you." He said. "When you walked past me, I could have ruined everything Carlisle, my father, you met him at the hospital- has built for us. If I hadn't been denying my thirst for the last, well, too many years, I wouldn't have been able to stop myself. What did you think of me that day?" he asked.

Uh oh. What would I say? I took a breath and said, "I wondered why you hated us so quickly. I hadn't even had the chance to make fun of your face yet."

"What?" he said, sounding worried.

"Well, if you go past the fact that you looked like you hated me, you looked kind of constipated," I said, nodding seriously.

He looked pretty worried about my mental health.

"So you hated me because I smell yummy?" I prompted.

"To me, it was like you were summoned straight from hell to ruin me. In that hour, I thought of a hundred different ways to lure you from the room with me. And I fought them each back, thinking of my family, what I could do to them. I had to run out, to get away before…" he trailed off.

"Well thanks." I said.

"For what?"

"Not killing me," I replied. "It took a lot of effort on your part, I'm sure. So thanks."

He looked at me with a weird look on his face- he was doing that a lot lately. "And then, as I tried to rearrange my schedule to avoid you, you were there - in that warm little room, the scent was maddening. But I realized I would have to kill the receptionist, and your brother, and I couldn't live with that.

I waited, it sounded like he really wanted to get this off his chest.

"But I resisted. I forced myself not to follow you. It was easier outside, I couldn't smell you anymore, I could think clearly and make the right decision. I left the others and then I went straight to Carlisle, at the hospital, to tell him I was leaving."

"So that's why you weren't there for about a week?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "By the next morning I was in Alaska. I spent two days there, with some old acquaintances... but I was homesick. I hated knowing I'd upset Esme, and my adopted family. I convinced myself it was weak to run away. Who were you, to chase me from the place I wanted to be? So I came back, but I took precautions, hunting more than usual before seeing you again. I was sure that I was strong enough to treat you like any other human." He paused here, looking like he was thinking about what he was going to say next.

"It was a complication that I couldn't read your thoughts- or even your brother's- to know what your reaction was. I wasn't used to not knowing anything."

"I wonder why you can't read mine or even Percy's…" I said.

"I've never encountered this before. I'd like to meet your parents- maybe that could give me a clue," he said.

I burst out laughing. "Please, no, go on, it's interesting," I said through my tears about a minute later as I motioned him to go on.

"I wanted you to forget my behavior that first day, so I tried to talk with you like I would with any person. I was interested in your thoughts, it's incredibly frustrating to have to talk to someone, you know. But you were-are- interesting, I found myself caught up in your expressions. But then, with the truck, you moved so quickly out of the way, and I didn't expect it. That made you another mystery to me; most other humans would have stood in shock."

But at the hospital what I'd done had sunk in- almost revealing myself to everyone! The others wanted to kill you- to make sure you wouldn't say anything. But I fought with Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper when they suggested that. Carlisle sided with me, and Alice. Esme told me to do whatever I had to in order to stay."

"She sounds like a good person." I said. Renée was a good mother, but sometimes she could be as impulsive as a teenager, so the kind, loving mother Edward had made me feel…. A bit jealous.

"The next day I eavesdropped on the minds of everyone you spoke to, shocked that you kept your word. So I tried to ignore you. But I failed at that, so here we are."

"yup." I said. I looked down and checked my watch- it was early afternoon, and I was hungry because I hadn't eaten lunch. "Are we finished? I'm hungry." I said.

He laughed and got up. "Can I show you something?" he asked as he pulled his jacket on.

"Sure?" I said. I wasn't too sure. If it had something to do with him sparkling, I was sure it could wait.

"Climb on my back." He said.

"What?"

"I won't hurt you, it's just… I can run very fast, and we could get to the truck faster." He said.

I walked to him slowly, and climbed on his back. I wrapped an arm around his neck, and totally could have strangled him, if it wasn't for… well, him not needing to be strangled to die.

"Ready?" he said.

"Yeah, whatever." I said.

And he ran through the forest. He was fast, but I wasn't scared, if I were to whack myself against a tree, what would hurt? And within about five seconds we had gotten back to the truck.

"Nice transportation," I said as I climbed off.

He laughed at that and got in the truck. We went back to forks, and I have to say it was nice. So he wasn't planning on killing me or Percy. As I pulled into the driveway, some clouds had covered the sun.

"You gonna run home?" I asked.

"It's how I got here," he said.

"Bye," I waved as he climbed out of the truck. And he was gone.

I unlocked the front door to hear some video game playing at full blast, and Percy slamming buttons excitedly. Excellent.

I took a coat from the closet quietly, and snuck up behind him. He was too engrossed in the game to notice anything, and I threw the coat over his face and pulled it tight over his eyes.

"Meda!" he yelled as he flailed around wildly. The controller went flying, and after a few seconds I let him go.

"You lost whatever you were doing," I said triumphantly.

"Yeah thanks," Percy said sourly. Then he grinned. "Soooo how'd it go?"

"Wonderful, in nine months you're going to be an uncle," I said.

He threw the coat at me.

"Okay, okay," I said as I untangled the zipper from my hair. "He sparkles in the sun- I mean full out disco ball sparkles- and he wants to drink my blood. Apparently, I smell like the sea."

Percy looked worried. "What's that mean for me?" he asked.

"You smell, like, half as good as me. You're just all around, half as good as me anyways," I said.

He threw a pillow at me. Aren't brothers great?


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello everyone. So I had wisdom teeth removed, fun fun, and college started, even more fun. I have made a change I'd like to tell everyone about. I have promised myself that I will have each chapter be AT LEAST 2,000 words. That means the chapters will be longer than before. And second, I have classes every day now, and it will be longer in between updates. Just a warning, but I hope the longer chapters are to everyone's liking. thank you for reading, your lovely and wonderful reviews, follows, and favorites. they mean the word to me. Thank you.**

* * *

Charlie came home in the middle of a fight between me and Percy. I'm not joking when I say fight; Percy was learning how to spar with a knife fighter (me). He was good and getting better with practice, but I had the advantage of two blades, while he only had one. We didn't break anything around the house or mark any walls, but climbing on the couch and countertops were fair game.

"Good afternoon you two!" Charlie shouted above our clanging. Percy capped the sword and I retracted my knives and put them in my pockets.

"Hi Charlie," we mumbled, looking away.

"We didn't break anything, promise!" I said.

"I believe you, but geez, what a way to enter the house; I thought you were fighting off attackers." Charlie said as he put two fish on the counter.

"Chaarrrlie!" I moaned and pointed vigorously to the fish. "You promised!"

"I let two fish go for everyone I caught." He said, stressing the two.

I shrugged. I guess it was better than killing every one he caught. I nagged Percy about his homework, and he said that he had, in fact, spent the entire morning playing video games.

"Why do you like video games so much? Our life is pretty much a video game," I said as I straightened up the living room.

"Meda, it's cool. Jeez, girls." Percy rolled his eyes. I whacked him with my knife again. It was pleasant, being able to kill him, but not kill him at the same time.

After a dinner of fried fish, which I ate while poking fun at Charlie, Percy and I hit the books. Well, we did some homework and hit each other with books. He didn't pry about that morning, and I was grateful for that.

The next morning was a nice cloudy Sunday, and I wondered what to do for the rest of the day. I could always drag Percy to the mall; I swear he wore the same 6 shirts over and over again. I idly fingered my necklace from camp when I heard a knock on the door.

"Coming" I said as I pirouetted to the front door.

I looked through the peephole and saw Edward. I yanked the door open. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "Come in," I motioned him into the kitchen.

Percy took that moment to come downstairs asking "who was that, Meds?" he paused when he saw Edward.

Edward said "hello, Percy," and smiled.

Percy didn't look too happy. "Hey," he grunted. "So are you two dating or what?" he asked.

"Percy!" I said. Oh, I wanted to put my knives against his throat soooo badly!

Edward laughed, "I don't know actually," he said.

"No, we're not," I said to both of the boys. I turned around and grabbed some cereal, and started eating my breakfast.

"So why are you over here?" I asked Edward with my mouth full.

"I was wondering if you two would like to meet my family," Edward stated.

"For real?" Percy asked. He didn't seem impressed.

"Yeah why not?" I asked.

"Aren't they…. You know." He motioned at Edward.

"Oh," I said. Then I hissed and bent my index fingers in front of my canines and wiggled them.

Percy covered his eyes while Edward and I laughed.

"Yes, they are, but they won't bite, trust me," Edward said.

"Alright, yeah, why not, how much weirder can we get?" Percy said as he went back to his room. I was glad he didn't elaborate.

"I'll be a few minutes," I told Edward. "Charlie! We're going to a friend's house!" I yelled up the stairs.

"What friend?" he asked from his room.

"Edward Cullen!" I yelled back.

A pause. "alright." He said, more quietly this time.

I stared at my closet wondering what the hell was up. What do you wear when meeting a group of vampires? I pulled on a pair of jeans, and found a long sleeved orange shirt. It covered most of my scars, and the orange reminded me of camp, which was nice. Of course, I armed myself and pulled my hair back. With the black hair and orange shirt, I looked like Halloween came early. Percy took a while longer than I did, he was a bit more of a neat person, and I never bothered to make my bed.

"Thank you," Edward said, "for being so… good about this. I'm sure this isn't easy."

"Whatever, I've been through worse," I said.

He nodded and Percy came down holding his pen.

"Keep it in your pants, bro," I said as I grabbed my coat. He didn't find it funny.

Charlie sent us off, and was surprisingly civil to Edward.

I let Percy drive, as I had driven yesterday. Edward gave directions, and soon we pulled up to his house.

Percy tugged on my shoulder when he saw it. I nodded to him and glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. I also tried to send calming vibes to him. Don't give anything away, it'll all be fine, I told him through my thoughts. We walked into the house.

The house really was nice, with floor to ceiling walls, and I saw where I had crashed through, although the window was replaced. There were two staircases that joined together on the second story. As we walked in I saw that the rest of Edward's family was already waiting for us. I remembered Dr. Cullen from the hospital, and I assumed the woman next to him was his wife Esme. She was pale and beautiful like all of them, with a heart shaped face and long brown hair. It was almost the same color as my black hair, but a few shades lighter. She smiled in welcome.

"Hello, Meda, Percy," he said as he slowly walked to us. I assumed he was trying to not freak us out. We both shook his hand, and he moved back to Esme.

"Hi Dr. Cullen," I said.

"Please, Carlisle." He said.

"Hi Edward!" Alice chirped from the top of the right hand staircase. She rushed down and stopped in front of us. Carlisle didn't seem too approving, but I didn't mind. I saw Percy was surprised, but not too shocked. After all, we had both seen stranger.

Alice hugged me gently, and kissed my cheek. She hugged Percy too, which surprised him. "You both smell wonderful, I've never noticed before," she said.

Percy laughed at that, and I said "thank you."

"Thank you," Esme said. "We're so glad that you came."

"Well thank you for inviting us," I said. I had a feeling Percy wasn't feeling too talkative.

I realized then that Rosalie and Emmett weren't there, and remembered that they didn't like others knowing about them.

"Edward said you shoot really well, Meda," Esme said after a short awkward silence.

"Yes, I learned at a summer camp Percy and I go to every year. I sometimes go winters, too," I said.

"You shoot as well?" Esme asked Percy.

"Oh no, I'm terrible," Percy said. "But I'm pretty decent at the rock climbing wall," he said as an afterthought.

"Oh that's nice." Esme said.

"Sometimes I try to shoot him when he's climbing, that gives him incentive to move faster," I said, smiling at the memories.

"But she always misses," Percy assured them.

"That's because I want to miss, if I wanted to hit you, I would have, and you would've fallen into the lava," I shot back.

"Lava?" Alice asked, worriedly.

"Noooo, not real lava, it's just… pretend lava, we use it to tell the newbies not to fall off the wall," I said. I hoped it was convincing.

Everyone nodded, and seemed for a loss of words.

"Edward, why don't you show Meda and Percy around?" Esme asked with a smile after another short awkward silence.

He took my elbow and showed us to a piano- with a wonderful view of the forest.

"No coffins?" Percy asked.

"Sadly, no, not even a cobweb. Esme likes keeping things neat." Edward said.

"I'll remember to bring my garlic next time," Percy said.

I laughed, and looked around. Everyone had already gone, leaving the three of us alone. Edward then led us up the left staircase, and down a hall. He motioned the rooms along with their occupants, and when we got to the end of the hall, I had to laugh.

"Really?" I asked, looking at the cross.

"It was Carlisle's father's cross. He was a pastor in the late sixteen thirties." Edward said thoughtfully.

"How old is Carlisle?" Percy asked curiously.

"He just celebrated his three hundred and sixty fourth birthday," Edward said after a second.

"Wow," I said. I wondered what it was like to live that long, and I was glad I turned down immortality. My life was so fast paced, sometimes I felt like I'd already lived two lifetimes. And I knew what happened after death, why fear it?

"Here, let's go talk to him," Edward said as he led us down the hall further, and before he knocked, I heard, "come in."

Carlisle was reading a book that was about a foot thick, and closed it as we came in. he smiled in welcome, and closed the book.

"I was hoping to tell them about your history," Edward told him, but it almost sounded like he was asking permission, as well.

"Of course, but I've just received a call, Dr. Snow is sick, and I'm going in to cover for him. You know the story well, you tell them," he said as he slowly grabbed a coat and briefcase. I thought it was slow because I'd seen how fast they could move. He smiled again and closed the door softly behind him. I guessed he was trying his best not to scare us. Well, that was nice of him.

"After he found out what he had become, he tried to kill himself. He tried starving himself, jumping from a great height, and other ways. But it is very difficult to kill us, and he failed."

"How can you be killed?" Percy asked. He was finally interested.

"Usually another vampire has to do it. Being burned alive works, as does cutting off the head and burning the rest of the pieces." Edward said.

And celestial bronze, I thought.

"So what happened then?" I asked. Edward had paused, almost lost in thought.

"He stayed away from people, and didn't feed. But once a herd of deer passed by his hiding place, and he attacked them. After a short time he realized he could exist without hurting people. He can work as a doctor now, because he has become used to the smell of human blood. He's a brilliant doctor, been to medical school many times over the years," Edward added.

"That's good to know." I said.

"He then traveled Europe, and in Italy, found others of his kind. They were more civilized, and were patrons of the arts. They did not understand Carlisle's need to abstain from human blood, and he eventually left. They're still there, in Italy. Been there for millennia, and will stay there for the foreseeable future. He then moved to the new world and practiced medicine. As people feared the vampires less and less, he found he could interact with people without fear. Then the influenza epidemic hit the United States, he found me. I was dying in a hospital, and he changed me.

It's very painful, but I'm grateful to him. He saved me. And taught me the value of human life." Edward said.

"That's good of him." I said. I knew what it was like to have to make a family from what was given to you.

He then showed us his room, with rows and rows of shelves filled with CDs.

"Dude, get an iPod," Percy said as he looked at the shelves. Edward politely declined. I noticed there was no bed in the room. Then I wondered what he did during the times he couldn't sleep. His life must be really boring.

There was a knock on the door, and a voice asked if she could come in. Alice then opened the door and announced that there was going to be a storm. That worried me slightly, but I squashed it down. Edward said that Jasper could sense emotions, and I didn't want him to sense mine.

"Would you like to come?" Alice asked. I realized I hadn't heard a word she said.

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"We're going to play ball, would you like to come?" she asked again. Vampires play baseball? I wondered.

She laughed and said, "Yes, actually, we do. It's great fun. You should join us." I realized I'd asked the question out loud. She looked like she really wanted me to be there.

I looked at Percy. "Alright, we'll go." Percy and I both said at the same time.

Alice beamed. "Thank you!" she said. She hugged us both before she left.


	18. Chapter 18

**So I had very little homework, and I went right to work on chapter 18! I cannot believe the amount of support I've received from all around the world. thank you for your kind words, they mean so much to me. I'm almost finished with book one, and I have lots of plans for book two. thank you!**

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When we pulled into the driveway, there was already another car there.

"Who's that?" Percy asked.

I saw Billy waiting under the cover of the porch. Under my breath, told Percy to let me do the talking. He nodded, looking worried.

"Hello," I said cheerfully as I unlocked the door and let him inside. There was a note from Charlie on the fridge- he'd dropped a glass of cranberry juice and stained a shirt and jeans, and that incident had reminded him he needed some more clothes. He wrote that he doubted we'd read the note, but just in case, he wrote it anyway.

I crumpled it up into the wastebasket.

"I'm sorry, Charlie was reminded that he needed more clothes than what he had. Thank goodness, I was ready to drag him to the mall myself," I said with a smile. "So what can I do for you two?"

"Charlie isn't here?" Billy asked.

"No, sorry. We just got back, as you can see, Charlie must be stuck in traffic or something," Percy said. He'd been silent up until then, and talking now would make him seem less suspicious.

"Where did you go?" Billy asked. Jacob apologized to me with his facial expression behind his father. I understood, and didn't hold anything against him.

"To a friend's house," I said.

"I just stopped by to drop off some of harry Clearwater's fish fry, you can eat it in the future, and Charlie enjoys it," Billy said, putting a paper bag in my hands. He then instructed me to keep it cool, and I promised him we would eat it tomorrow night.

"Jacob, why don't you find the picture of Rebecca in the car? I'm sure Charlie would like to see it," Billy said.

Jacob rolled his eyes and left the house. There was a short pause after that, and I offered Billy a drink. He politely declined.

"So I hear you two are friends with the Cullens," Billy said.

"Yes," Percy asked. "So?"

"They've got a reputation on the reservation," Billy said hesitantly.

"What for? I heard they never go there," I said. He seemed surprised that I knew that bit of information.

"There are reasons for everything. I'm just telling you this because Charlie is one of my best friends. I don't want to see him get…hurt," he said. Okay so were the Cullens out to kill us all or what? I could probably last in a fight, but if it were all of them against me…

"We don't want to see him get hurt either, you know. I love him, and I'll take care of him." I told him that with a promise behind it. I wouldn't hurt Charlie- he was too good.

Billy nodded, seeming pleased for the time being. Jacob then came into the house soaking wet and complaining about the lack of Rebecca's picture. They then said goodbye and promised to see us soon. Maybe it was in my head, but the promise seemed to be more of a threat than anything else.

After about thirty minutes, Charlie came back with two new shirts and a pair of jeans. He was surprised that we were back and seemed disappointed that he missed Billy. I was glad he did though, that would have been very awkward.

We talked about the Cullens, and he informed us that when they first came, he was worried about all the trouble five teenagers could cause, but was pleasantly surprised by the lack of trouble they caused. They were all well behaved, and he didn't like Billy and the residents on the reservation causing trouble, he said.

Percy and I shot each other a look at that last statement, but didn't say anything.

"Speaking of the Cullens, we were invited to go play baseball tonight," I said to Charlie over dinner.

"Did you accept?" he said.

"Yes, I'd like to see it," Percy said. I stomped on his toe under the table, but of course, it didn't do anything.

"Alright," Charlie said after a pause. "The whole family's going to be there, right?"

"Yeah," Percy said. "Is it alright with you?"

Sometimes I forgot that Percy and Charlie had only known each other until Percy came here. But they'd been getting along well, and that made me feel better.

"Of course you can go, its time you two made some friends," Charlie said with a smile.

"Thanks Charlie," I said as I cleared up the table.

I went upstairs to brush my teeth and went to my room to straighten it up a little. I had a strange feeling, and on a whim, went under my bed and took out the loose floorboard to get to my throwing daggers. I had a feeling I'd need them, but had no idea why. But sometimes we had to trust our instincts.

The doorbell rang, and I heard Percy get it.

I put two daggers in each shoe, and checked to make sure my stomach armor hadn't slipped. It hadn't, Beckendorf was too good.

Charlie and Edward were talking about baseball, and the frankly appalling state of the Seattle mariners, the pro baseball team. Percy was cleaning the kitchen and I came down and announced myself. Edward stood up and asked me if I was ready to go.

"Percy!" I called, and he came out after starting the dishwasher. We both grabbed our coats and left the house. Then we stopped.

Parked on the driveway was a large Jeep. And by large, I mean huge. Charlie looked like he was halfway to having a heart attack. "Wear your seatbelts," he said.

Percy and I sat in the backseat while Edward drove. I don't know how he knew where we were going, but eventually he went on a mountain path that wasn't the smoothest of rides. I was practically ready to bring up my dinner, but I steadfastly refused. Eventually, he parked the car, and we climbed out. He warned us that we'd have to walk a little bit. The rain let up, thankfully, and I focused on enjoying myself. I was going to watch vampires play baseball, something not many people get to see.

Everyone was there, including Rosalie and Emmett. She glowered at us before talking to Emmett again. It was good to know that some things never change. Just then the thunder shook the air around us. I grabbed Percy's forearm and squeezed. Alice said there would be some thunder and lightning, but no hard rain. That was another thing that worried me, Alice. She must have been a daughter of Apollo; there was no other explanation for her talent at seeing possible futures. The oracles I dealt with had only given absolutes, and Alice's ability to see possibilities instead of absolute futures was scary.

"Why don't you come sit with me," Esme asked us politely. I still held onto Percy's arm, and he didn't seem to mind.

"You don't play?" I asked as we walked a distance away from the playing field.

"No, I referee, they enjoy cheating." She said fondly as we walked.

"Really?" Percy asked.

"The arguments they get into…" she said, trailing off.

"You sound like my mom," Percy told her.

"They are my children, in a way. My boy died a few days after he was born, that's why I jumped off the cliff." She said.

I felt sorry for her, but she seemed happy the way she was. Not many people feel that way, and I was also glad for her.

"Batter up," Esme called as I saw Alice roll the ball between her fingers.

Emmett had the bat, and jasper was behind him. Suddenly Alice flicked her wrist and the ball ended up in jasper's hands. He threw it back to her. The next time she threw the ball, Emmett hit it. A loud boom echoed through the sky- I understood why they needed the storm as cover. Emmett went off, and Edward chased after the ball into the forest. I smiled, this was interesting.

They continued playing for about half an hour. I saw another use for the thunder, Carlisle and Emmett collided when they reached home plate at the same time with a boom. They laughed and argued like any other family, and it was surprising. Percy seemed to be enjoying himself, he would smile with them.

As Alice got ready to throw the next ball, she froze. "I didn't see," she said and dropped the ball. They all hurried around her, and then the next second they were in a circle around Percy and me.

"I'm sorry," Alice said softly.

"What?" Percy and I asked at the same time.

"They heard us playing that changed their course." She told the others.

"How many?" Rosalie asked.

"Three," Alice said.

"They're just curious," Edward assured. "You'll both be safe. Let's just continue," he said and in a second the others were back in their places. He and Alice stayed by our sides though, and in front of us protectively.

After about five more minutes, he tensed. "Keep quiet, and stay very still." He said. Everybody paused their game, and turned to a sound that my ears could barely pick up.

Three of them emerged from the woods, a tall man with blonde hair, a black man with long hair, and a woman with flaming red hair. They were all barefoot, and had on what looked like hiking gear. The woman's hair had leaves and dirt in it. They seemed nervous, their eyes shifted side to side as they took in the Cullens.

"We thought we heard a game, is there room for a few more players?" the dark skinned man asked. "Forgive me, this is James, Victoria, and I am Laurent."

"We were just finishing up," Carlisle said. "But of course, you are welcome to join us another time. We have a permanent residence nearby, and there is another one in Denali."

They looked surprised. "Permanent residence? How do you manage that?" Laurent asked.

"Why don't you come to our home and we can talk?" Carlisle said.

They were even more surprised at the word 'home' but didn't decline the invitation. Carlisle then said that he would show them the way to their house, and that Edward would take Percy and I back to the Jeep.

At that moment a strong wind blew Percy's and my scent toward the three vampires.

Edward stiffened. The three vampires turned to us, and Edward pushed us behind him. A growl or snarl tore from his throat, and Alice stepped in front of us too.

"You brought a snack?" James asked with a smirk.

"They're with us," Carlisle said.

"But they're human," Laurent said, mystified.

"Wow I had no idea," I said dryly. Everyone looked at me. "Yeah, it talks, too." I said. The Cullens and Percy looked like they wanted to hit me.

"We will not harm her, or hunt in your territory," Laurent said. James looked like he wanted to hit Laurent. Basically, everybody wanted to hit everybody else.

"We'll show you the way to our home. Shall we?" Carlisle asked.

"Let's go," Edward grabbed both Percy's and my arms and marched us to where the jeep was. Once we were in, he and Alice hurriedly buckled in. Emmett was behind us, and Edward slammed the gas to the floor. He hit the freeway going over a hundred miles an hour.

"Where are we going?" Percy yelled over the roar of the engine.

No answer.

"Where the hell are we going?!" I screamed. "I need to go back to Charlie!"

"Pull over," Alice said suddenly.

Still no answer.

"Dammit, pull over!" she said.

"He's a tracker, Alice! He's tracking them now, and he won't stop until he gets them!" Edward yelled at us.

"Pull over!" I said. I found a pen on the floor, lunged for it, and threw it at the back of Edward's head. It shattered, but I had their attention. "Pull over now!" I repeated.

Surprisingly, he did.

"Now, here's what we are going to do," I said.

"What makes you think you know best?" Edward asked scathingly. Percy laughed out loud.

"Dude, she knows a lot. And, listen to her. Just do what she says, trust me, I know." Percy said. I'd never been happier to have him as a brother.

"Take me back to Charlie. I tell him that Forks isn't working out. Renee is in Florida with her husband, and planning on staying there for the next two months. She won't be a problem. I tell him that I want to go back to phoenix. Percy, you say that you are thankful for meeting him, but you want to go to phoenix with me. We leave. Charlie is safe. Done." I finish to three vampires and Percy looking at me like I'm a genius.

Emmett was nodding, looking content with the plan.

"You both have twenty minutes once you get in the house." Edward said.

"Will someone please drive us to phoenix?" I asked.

"If you go to phoenix, he'll know where you are," Edward said.

"Am I an idiot?" I asked him.

"Do you really want to know the answer to that question?" Percy asked.

I glared at him.

"No, of course not," Alice said.

"Because I say I'm going to phoenix, he'll assume I'm not going to phoenix. Understood?" I asked.

"You are brilliant," Emmett said.

"Thank you."

We drove the rest of the way in silence. I held on to Percy's hand. I wasn't scared, I was thinking too much. He's hunting us. But he didn't know that I was hunting him. I swore to myself that I would kill him before he could kill me.

"Lady Artemis, please help me on this hunt," I prayed to her.

I just hoped she was listening.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19! I cant believe it! I can honestly say that I would have NEVER expected the amount of support I have received. Book one is drawing to a close, and readers can expect about 2-3 more chapters. I do have some flimsy ideas for book two, but you can all be assured that there will definitely be a book two. Thank you all so much!**

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"Emmett, drive the jeep back to the house," Edward said as we pulled in to the driveway. "Twenty minutes," he said to us. Percy and I got out of the car and walked to the front door. I unlocked it.

I stalked up to my room, ignoring Charlie.

"Meda, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious, I'm leaving," I said as I found the duffel bag I never unpacked in the corner of the closet. I'd always had at least one bag ready to go at all times, for emergencies such as these, with a change of clothes, some mortal money, ambrosia, and some weapons. Old habits die hard. This bag had a small crossbow with two dozen arrows ready. I was happy I'd kept my daggers on me, which saved time. My recurve bow, quiver full of arrows, and two swords were under my bed, I decided to keep them there for when I returned. I had my pencils on me, and on a whim, I took out a cloth bag filled with 5 drachmas from out of my nightstand. I might need them.

"Why?" Charlie asked as he watched me helplessly.

"Because I can't stay here. I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not, and that's what I'm doing here. I have to go, I told Percy, and he's decided to go too. Just tell everyone I had a family emergency or something like that. They'll believe you." I said. I was making my bed and had fifteen minutes of the twenty left.

"What brought this on?" Charlie asked. Percy exited his room with his backpack already packed. Ten minutes.

"Sorry Charlie, you'd been great to me, but I want to go to Phoenix too." Percy said. "Sorry."

"Wait, what?" Charlie asked as he followed us down the stairs.

"Go," I said to Percy and pushed him out the door.

"We're leaving. Goodbye." I said. Before I left, I turned around. "I love you, father. Forgive me," I said to him in Ancient Greek.

Understanding crossed his face and he nodded. He was really good about the half-blood stuff. At least he wasn't too hurt. We threw ourselves into the truck and I started it and followed the road to the Cullen's house. Percy didn't talk.

"Are you mad?" I asked.

"No, this was bound to happen if we were watching vampires play baseball," he said with a grin.

"Because I'd hate it if you…hated me." I said.

"Meds, you're my sister. I can't hate you." He said simply.

"Thank you." I said softly.

About halfway there, I saw Edward climb onto the bed of the truck. He came in through the window, and shut the window behind him.

"He heard the end of your performance, and he's behind us now. He'll follow us to the house, and wait to see what we do." Edward said.

"Got it." I answered and kept going. We maintained silence after that.

When we got to the Cullen's house, I parked the car and grabbed my bag. I wasn't going to let anyone touch it. We were rushed through the front door, and saw the rest of the family there with Laurent as well. Neither Emmett nor Edward seemed too happy to see him.

"Laurent came to warn us," Carlisle said to the boys.

Laurent was looking at us curiously. "I was just saying that I've never seen anything like James in my two hundred years. He's a very lethal tracker." He cocked his head. "Are you sure they're worth it?" he asked.

Everybody looked like they wanted to hit him. He sighed.

"Go in peace," Carlisle said.

Laurent took one final look around us, and left.

Edward turned to us. "He's a couple miles away, but he's closing in. Alice and Jasper will drive you south to Phoenix, and we'll all stay here and track him. There's no other choice." He said helplessly.

Carlisle sighed. I could tell he wasn't too happy about planning the death of another being, but he looked like he was ready to do it.

"Percy, you change clothes with Carlisle, and Meda, change clothes with Rosalie," Edward continued. "It'll help hide the scent."

Percy was whisked away in a second, and taken down the hallway.

"Why should I? We're in danger because of your stupidity, and because of both of them!" Rosalie hissed.

"Esme, please?" Edward asked.

"Of course," she smiled.

I was taken away and deposited into a closet that looked like it could be a small bedroom. Oh boy, this was going to be awkward.

"Um," I said as she took off her shirt and handed it to me. I looked away, it was weird to see so much skin on someone else and not be pressing bandages against a wound, like I'd done to friends before.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Could you please…look away?" I asked. "I have some scars and…" I trailed off. Understanding filled her eyes.

"Of course," she said. She turned away, and I took off my shirt and put hers on. Thankfully, it had long sleeves as well, and we traded jeans. The jeans weren't too uncomfortable, but I had to hold them up with a hand. It was strange to see Esme in my clothes, but she looked better in them than I did. I had to be careful to hide my knives in my shoes and my armor, and moved them noiselessly as I changed.

When we came downstairs, Percy looked incredibly uncomfortable in Carlisle's clothes. I punched him lightly in the arm. "Looking good, bro," I laughed.

He glared at me, but smiled.

It seemed as if everything was settled, we'd go in a Mercedes. That was exciting; I'd never touched one, much less ridden in one. Rosalie and Emmett took the truck; I heard the roar as it started.

"Be safe," Esme said as she left, she hugged us both tightly.

"Thank you," Percy and I said at the same time.

"Meda, can I have a word?" Edward said.

"Alright," I said as I followed him down into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It was foolish of me, to put you in danger because of this, Rosalie was right."

"It's okay, I understand." I said with a small smile.

"You know I care, don't you? I'm going to try my best to keep you safe."

What could I say to that? "Okay," I replied awkwardly.

He nodded, and surprisingly, bent down a bit and kissed my cheek. I really had no idea about what to say to that, but thankfully, he walked out of the kitchen, beckoning me to come with him. I took a couple of deep breaths and steeled myself for what was going to happen.

Percy and I were taken to the Mercedes and put in the back. It started quietly, and we sped out of the driveway at a dizzying speed. We then hit the freeway going more than twice the speed limit. After some time, I eventually fell asleep on Percy's shoulder.

There was a room full of mirrors, and I walked closer to one. My reflection copied me, coming closer and into focus. I reached the mirror and tried to touch it. My reflection didn't copy me. My hand went through the glass, and I jerked it back. Mirror Meda was smiling at my foolishness.

"What is this?" I asked. Suddenly my reflections were surrounding me. Coming closer.

"Here you go," one said as she put something in my hand. It was a small lighter.

"Why?" I asked.

"Try it," she said with a sly smile.

No! I screamed at myself, but I saw my hand open the cap and flick the switch anyway. The flames rushed up my arm, burning me. I was on fire, and I was screaming, screaming, screaming, calling for water and realizing there was none, and that this was how I was going to die…

My head snapped back and I sucked in air to scream and I saw Percy looking terrified but relieved.

"You were screaming in your sleep, Meds," he said as he hugged me tightly. I saw we had stopped at a hotel. Alice and Jasper were looking at me sadly.

"I'm sorry," I said. Gods, I hated fire and burns. Absolutely hated them, ever since I was eight and those other three foster boys in the home I was in had held me down and ran a lighter over my calf until it blistered and I could smell my burning flesh. "I'm sorry," I said again as I hugged him back.

"It's alright," he said, sounding choked. "Let's go in," he said.

It was still dark outside, and we went into our room. It was bland, but thankfully had a TV. Alice had warned us that she wouldn't let us out of her sight. I kept my bag on me, and was grateful to get out of Esme's clothes. Percy was unnaturally quiet; usually he would be joking or saying something. I cornered him in the bathroom and saw the reason he'd been avoiding looking at me.

He'd been crying. Not much, but his eyes were a bit on the red side.

"I heard you talk in your sleep, and I was trying to wake you up. I know I'll never know all of what happened to you, but… I hate them, Meda. I hate what they did to you." He said.

I hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"I'm never going to get 100% better, but I am much better than what I was before. Camp helped me, Annabeth helped me, and you helped me. You've been great, really great, but don't worry about me all the time. I can work through it or something," I said. I wasn't lying. Meeting Percy had helped me so much. I'd always wanted a family, and he'd been given to me.

He hugged me again, and I told him to rinse his face with cold water, it helped bring down the puffiness in the eyes. He flicked me with the water, and I laughed and closed the door.

I went to the window to see the sunrise make orange and purple streaks across the sky. It felt good to be back in Phoenix, with the dark brown sand and short cactus growing everywhere. I eventually shut the curtains for Alice's and Jasper's sakes.

Percy and I ordered food, and Alice assured us that we wouldn't have to pay for it.

"You know that the more time you have, the better investments do, right? And think about that while also knowing that I can sense trends in the stock market," she said with a smile.

"what was your life like, before you were changed?" I asked.

"I don't remember," she said sadly. "It's very difficult to have memories from your human life. I don't have any."

I patted her hand. "Don't worry about it," I said. I could tell she was sad at the loss of her memories. But it would have been fascinating to know if she had been a daughter of Apollo. That was the most likely theory I had.

She smiled gratefully and turned on the TV. Jasper hadn't said a word since we checked in, but he stared at the infomercials with Alice. Percy sat down and watched TV with us, but couldn't stay still because of his ADHD. We killed time by sleeping, throwing pens at each other, and watching some more TV. Star Trek was on, so that helped. The new one with Benedict Cumberbatch was absolutely wonderful; except for the fact the shirtless scenes were deleted.

My phone was on silent, so I had to go to the bathroom to check it every so often. I flipped it open, and saw that I had one new text. It was from Charlie, and my stomach dropped.

_Renee called. She might be going back to Phoenix within the next couple of days because Phil isn't signed yet. Stay safe. Be careful._

"Shit," I whispered. I exited the bathroom and rushed to the door. "I have to go downstairs and make a phone call. Renee could be back here soon," I said.

"Why not use our cell phone?" Alice asked.

She had to ask that, didn't she? "No thank you," I said, and left it at that.

So of course everyone had to come with me to the front desk so they could direct me to a pay phone. I dialed Renee's number and waited. She hadn't picked up.

"Hey mom, just wanted to tell you to text me as soon as you get this message," I said. "You can also use Percy's number," I gave her the number and finished with "It's important. Love you, bye."


	20. Chapter 20

**I've been going crazy, in a good way though. I think. anyways, here's chapter 20!**

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Everyone was waiting and quickly ushered me back to the room. Percy rolled his eyes. We pretty much sat around for another thirty minutes before I got up and announced that I needed to take a shower. This hotel only had a toilet and sink in the bathroom. The shower was down the hall.

"I'll go with you," Alice said, getting up.

I pulled a face. "No thanks, Alice. I mean, I know you're trying to keep me safe and all, but you really don't need to. Actually, please don't," I said.

She sat down uneasily. "Move quickly." She said.

"Of course," I replied with a smile.

I grabbed my bag and left the room. I unzipped my bag quietly and loaded my crossbow. It had been made especially for me, and it was very small compared to others. The arrows looked more like darts, but were tipped in celestial bronze. I walked down the hall and saw a maid exit a room. She turned to me and smiled, revealing fangs. I aimed and fired. She burst into white dust before she could properly threaten me. Another maid exited the hall behind me and slammed the door. I loaded again and fired. Two more monsters masquerading as people came to me, one dressed as a waiter for the café downstairs, and one that looked like an ordinary tourist. No more came, and I was assured that no more would come after me. I had used a phone, it was bound to happen. No doubt Renee would call Percy's cell phone and I'd have a lot more to deal with.

I washed my hair quickly, and let it air dry. I was back in the room in twenty minutes.

We all sat in silence until Alice suddenly got up. "Something's changed!" she said.

"What do you see?" Jasper asked her.

"There's a long room with a gold stripe, but something's missing, another decision hasn't been made yet." she said. She grabbed some hotel stationery and started sketching what she saw. She also grabbed her phone to tell Carlisle that James wouldn't be in Washington much longer.

I looked at what she was drawing, and blurted, "It's a ballet studio, and it looks like the one I went to a lot when I was a kid."

She looked at me.

"You know this room?"

"Yeah, I used to go there for lessons. It's… here in Phoenix." I said.

Alice and Jasper looked at each other. I sat down.

"So he's here?" Percy asked.

"No, he's going to be here very soon," Alice said.

That night I didn't sleep too well, I kept waking up. I woke up saw Alice and jasper hunched over a paper as she drew a picture. I peered over their shoulder and immediately had to fight to keep the little dinner I ate down.

"The flower vase goes here," I said as I pointed to the countertop Alice was drawing. "That's mom's house."

She flew across the room and was dialing before I could blink. Panic bubbled up and I started breathing heavier. Jasper reached out to touch my shoulder and I waved him off.

"I have to learn how to do this by myself," I said with a dry smile. He nodded, looking troubled. I closed my eyes and focused my breathing. That was a problem I had, I panicked too easily, and had to focus on doing my job. I fought through the fear that was threatening to drown me and focused on the problem.

He was most likely going after my mother as well.

Solution: I had to kill him.

My eyes snapped open in shock, but it was the only reasonable solution. I had to kill him before he could kill me. But I had to make sure Renee was safe.

"I need to make another phone call," I said. I was planning on calling the home phone. So yet again, everyone watched me call Renee, except I called her home phone. I asked Alice for her cell phone number, and she wrote it down on a piece of paper.

She didn't pick up the home phone, so that meant she wasn't in phoenix, thankfully. The beep went off, indicating I should record my message.

"Hey mom, just wanted to tell you to call me as soon as you get this message, it's really important. You can call me at this number," I said as I gave her Alice's number. I repeated it twice so she could get the correct one. "Love you, bye." I set the phone down and sighed.

After we had gotten rushed back to the room, Percy buzzed. I'd forgotten that I turned my phone off, and turned it on.

_Meda, I hope you are doing well, what is the problem? Did Charlie tell you we might be coming back to AZ?_ She had texted me an hour ago. Missed her. Oh well. Percy showed me his phone.

_Hello Percy, sorry to use your phone like this. Are you and Meda alright? Is it something to do with HBS?_

HBS was something Renee and I made so we could talk about stuff in public without anyone knowing what was up. HBS stood for Half Blood Stuff, which, while juvenile, worked.

Percy buzzed again with a new text from Renee.

_I know you can't answer, but just to let you know, Phil was signed last minute, and we'll be staying in FL for at least a couple more months. I hope you are alright…IM me if you need to. Love you both. _

I'd explained how an iris message worked to Renee, but she was touchy about it. She felt that I was invading her privacy if I sent her an IM unannounced, but if she was willing to let me send her one, she thought I was in big trouble. In the past, if I needed to contact her in an emergency, she'd prefer phones over anything else, and the fact that she said it was okay to iris message her meant a lot.

"I need to text her back," I said.

Alice and jasper looked puzzled, but nodded, and went back to pouring over drawings she had made over the night. When I got in the bedroom, I opened the curtains and took out a crystal from my bag. I had to position it correctly to get a rainbow, but I threw a drachma in and prayed for the goddess to accept it. The drachma dissolved in the light.

"Show me Renee Dwyer, Florida, united states," I whispered.

Renee was sitting in a room, reading a book. She looked startled when she saw my face hovering in a rainbow, but quickly composed herself.

"I got your call," she said. "What's the matter?"'

"I have to go soon. You're staying in Florida, right?" I said.

"Yes, Phil was signed last minute. What's wrong?" she repeated.

"I can't tell you everything, but you need to stay in Florida. Don't come anywhere near phoenix, okay?" I asked.

She was silent for a moment. "I know you can't tell me everything, although I wish you could. But I trust you. I'll stay here, and anyway, there's a new apartment complex going up, and they asked me to do the interior design for half the apartments!" she said excitedly. "So I couldn't go back to phoenix just yet."

"That's great, mom, you'll do wonderful, I promise," I said with a smile. "I gotta go, love you," I said.

She smiled and waved her hand through the image, ending the call.

Alice, Jasper, and Percy were still looking at pictures. They looked at me.

"I don't see your mother in any of my visions. He's in the dark room, running a VCR or something." Alice said.

"That's good, then," I said. Her phone rang and she took it while talking too fast for me to hear.

She ended the call and announced, "Everyone else will be here soon, they're catching the next flight, and they lost him up in forks. The female is still there, but not planning on doing anything according to Edward."

Her phone rang again and she sighed. "She's right here, don't worry," she said as she handed me the phone. I touched it gingerly, and heard mom's panicked voice.

"Meda, where are you? Meda?" she was scared. I was a thousand miles away, walking back to the bathroom in a daze, keeping my face smooth. I just talked to her, didn't I? So, this had to be a trick. It had to be. A voice that sounded like her, but not actually here, because my mom was in Florida.

"Are you there?" A smooth male voice asked me. I knew this must be James.

I breathed into the receiver. He laughed. "It was perfect timing; really, she came home just in time to catch your father giving her a phone call warning her about you and your brother coming here earlier than usual. Now, even though you are very simpleminded, I'm sure you can figure out what I'm saying." He said.

"mhmm." I stated.

"Now, come to your house. By the phone, there will be an address for you to go to. And if you bring a friend, I'll be very… unhappy," he said. "And you wouldn't want me to be unhappy, would you, not with your poor mother here all alone with me?"

I kept my silence. What a dick. So he thought I believed him that my mom was with him, terrified and near death. He really had no idea what I was and I wasn't going to let him know. It was the best weapon in my arsenal.

He laughed. "Not so talkative without your friends to protect you now? Oh well, only to be expected. Now after I'm done with you, I'll have to go to work on that dear brother of yours, wont I? You two look so incredibly similar, its wonderful, really."

I still kept my silence, but my hand clenched by my side. Threatening me was one thing, threatening Percy was another. I would make sure he didn't hurt Percy or anyone else ever again.

"Okay, mom. Love you," I said.

I hung up the phone. I knew what would happen now, I'd go in that room and fight him. Or maybe I could do so somewhere else, where we wouldn't be interrupted? I saw myself in that room, but pushed the thought aside. I had to focus on the task at hand.

"Meda!" Alice suddenly screamed.

I rushed out the door. "What? What happened?" I ran to Alice who was lost in a vision and shook her. It was like trying to shake a boulder, but eventually she focused on my face. "What did you see?" I asked.

She shook herself back to the present. "Nothing, really." She said. I didn't believe her. She must have seen me in that room along with James. "Would you two like to eat something?" she asked. Percy was sitting on the bed, looking between Alice and me and looking like he was thinking.

"No thanks, I'll eat at the airport." I said. "Percy?"

"Yeah, I'll eat at the airport too." He said after a pause.

We both went into the bedroom to pack our things and I told him about the four monsters I killed in the hall the night before. I also told him about my plan to kill James.

"Meda, no!" he whisper yelled at me.

"Percy, yes!" I mimicked him. "I can do this, I know I can. You need to trust me. He thinks I think he has Renee. But I'm one step ahead. I can end this Percy, and I need your help!"

He sank down onto the bed. "What do I have to do?" he asked.

"Act normal. We're going to the airport to pick up some friends. It's all going to be fine," I said and zipped up my bag. "I'll give them the slip at the airport. I've been there before to pick up Renee's mom."

"Be careful," he said and hugged me tightly.

"Of course," I said and hugged him back.

Before we left, I put my knives in my sleeves and daggers in my pockets and shoes. Percy smiled nervously, but I knew he meant it in encouragement. We were hustled to the car and sped off to the airport before the sun was up.


	21. Chapter 21

**okay everyone, just wanted to let you all know that there will be one more chapter, then I'll be finished with the story. Thank you for reading!**

* * *

"Alice, how does it work, your visions of the future?" I asked after about a minute of silence.

She looked back at me and studied me for a moment before answering. ""Some things are more certain than others... like the weather. People are harder. I only see the course they're on while they're on it. Once they change their minds - make a new decision, no matter how small - the whole future shifts."

A snap decision. I was going to have to make the decision to go after James very quickly so she couldn't tell.

"That's interesting," I said. I prayed to Artemis some more on the way to the airport for her help. I wasn't the prey any longer, now I was the hunter.

I spent the rest of the ride to the airport focusing on leading Alice away from what I was doing. I imagined parking at the airport, walking around; getting a donut or some other horrid matter that is called food at the airport, seeing Edward, Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie and Emmett. I imagined Rosalie's beautiful face made ugly by a frown she always wore around me, but I focused on being at the airport. After a while, I could tell Alice was wound up less tightly. Jasper's talent at calming people down helped as well.

They parked in a garage, and thankfully, the plane everyone was on was landing in terminal four, the busiest one. We all took seats and waited. I waited until it was a half hour until the plane landed. Then suddenly I was out of time because it was landing ten minutes early. I had twenty minutes left.

"I think I'll eat now," I announced. "Percy, are you coming with?"

"Alright," he said.

"I'll go with you," Jasper said quietly. Alice waved goodbye with a tight smile as we walked away.

"Hey guys, sorry to break it to you, but I gotta make a pit stop," I said and jerked my thumb at the ladies room.

Percy rolled his eyes. "We'll wait," Jasper said with a nod.

"Alright," I said. I started to walk away, but I turned around and said, "Hey Jasper thanks for…everything you've done the past couple of days. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome," he said. I was grateful, I really was. He could tell that, I was sure.

"Shoo," Percy said and pushed me back to the bathroom. I swatted his hand away and walked into the bathroom at an easy walk.

I started running as soon as the door closed. This bathroom had two exits, I found out when we picked up Renée's mom from this airport a few years ago. People gave me strange looks, but as soon as the door closed, I drew the mist around me. Instead of my black hair, green eyes and freckles, someone saw someone with brown hair and eyes, with no freckles and wearing different clothes. It took concentration, but people didn't see me, just another girl.

I ran to the elevators, and there was a full one headed for the first level. I bounced up and down as soon as the doors closed. The elevator was mostly empty by the time it reached the first level, and I was ready to take off again, had stepped out until I heard something behind me.

"Wait, you dropped something!" I hadn't dropped anything, but turned around. Time slowed down around me.

A girl who looked about twelve years old was coming to me, with her hands stretched out in front of her. I opened my hand and she put a silver lighter in my hand, it looked like the one in my dream. I recoiled, but she closed my fingers around it and put her finger to her lips. I put my head down and said, "thank you, Lady Artemis," to the girl.

She smiled, and said, "Best luck on your hunt."

She disappeared and it seemed like time was back to normal. I put the lighter in my pocket and ran outside, but I couldn't see a cab. I was running low on time, it had been two minutes, and no woman takes that long to pee, Jasper was probably onto my scent. A cab came up with a haggard looking businessman in a suit hurrying out.

"Can you go from here?" I asked the cabbie after the businessman left.

"Yeah," he said. I got in the back and closed the door.

"Now where would you need to go, princess?" he asked and turned around. Monster, great. I grabbed a knife out of my shoe and cut his throat. His claws tore my shirt, but I didn't care. It didn't hurt at all. I dusted the residue off of the seat, and just my luck, he'd left the key in the ignition. I adjusted my mirrors, and was off.

It took about an hour to get to Renee's house, and I seriously doubted that the vampires would know Phoenix like I did, which was another advantage I had. I pulled up to the empty house and parked the car in the driveway. I used the mist to have everyone think there was a cabbie waiting for me in the car.

I ran to the phone, and saw the address James left by the phone. I threw it away, his handwriting was terrible. But it was what I expected, the ballet studio. But there was a phone number under the address. The phone was a landline, which sent out less signals than a cell phone. I dialed the number.

"You're very quick, I'm impressed," he said lazily.

"Is my mom alright?" I asked. I put just enough fear in my voice to sound scared.

"I have no quarrel with her," he said. I rolled my eyes and made faces at myself in the mirror. "Unless, of course, you're not alone," he said.

"Yeah, I'm alone." I said.

"Good, good," he said. "The ballet studio is right around the corner from your house, you know."

"I'll be there." I said. I hung up, that way I could have the last word. I left the house and locked the door behind me just in case I didn't make it back before I ran into the good vampires. I went into the cab and drove like crazy to the studio. I parked the cab next to the building, and killed the engine. I left my bag in the car, and took the key for the cab with me in my pocket.

The sign on the front door of the studio said it was closed for spring break. The door was unlocked. It was cool inside, and the air conditioner was running full blast. I took some quick deep breaths to give me energy to fight.

"Meda, Meda are you there?" my mother's panicked voice said when I ran into the building.

The TV screen she was talking from turned blue. He was on the opposite side of the room.

"You didn't have to use the VCR, you know. We have some family movies on DVD. Get with the times," I said as he walked slowly towards me.

"Your mother isn't here," he said triumphantly.

"I could tell, with the TV going blue and all," I said, gesturing to the screen.

He looked at me curiously. "You're different," he said after a short pause. He didn't say anything else.

"You say that like its surprising. But in kindergarten, they teach us that we're all special snowflakes," I said seriously.

He laughed. "I'd like you if we got to know each other some more."

"But that's not going to happen, is it, because you're planning on trying to kill me." I said.

"That's true. Now, what do you think your boyfriends going to do after I do kill you?" he asked.

"Okay, one, we're soooo not dating," I said. "Like, Ew. And two, I don't know, I'm sure Percy will tell him something." I shrugged.

"Your brother, right? He smells lovely," James said. "I'll have to get right to work on him after I finish here."

I curled a lip at him, but kept my mouth shut for this one.

"But do you mind if I tell Edward something?" James asked. He brought up a small video recorder and turned it on. "You're bravado is really something," he said. "It's wonderful, truly."

I crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue. He circled me, laughing at what he perceived as stupidity. I was facing a mirror, and I could see him watch me. I'm sure he could hear my heart beat faster; my breaths come quicker, and thought it was out of fear. I saw him crouch slowly, and saw in his eyes that he wasn't going to make this fast. He wanted to make me suffer. I turned up the corner of my mouth.

He launched himself at me. I bent my knees to drop to the floor, but wasn't fast enough. I was flung against the mirrors. I flew through the air slowly, and my back hit the wall, I landed on my front and stood up quickly. My shirt and jeans ripped from the mirrors, but nothing else was hurt on me. I crouched just the way he did and my fingers clenched into a fist so I could grab the dagger in my sleeve. James was looking at me with something like fear on his face.

"What are you?" he asked.

"Did you honestly think you're the only non-human out there?" I asked.

"What are you?" he asked again.

I walked up to him and moving faster than I've ever moved before, stabbed him in the shoulder, said "half-blood."

He looked at the knife in his shoulder and yelled "what is this?" as he tried to pull it out of his body, but it looked like it was stuck. He kept tugging and tugging at the blade, never giving up, staggering around in a circle. He howled in pain, something I guessed he wasn't used to experiencing for the past couple hundred years or so.

"You're just full of questions today aren't you?" I asked. I brought my pencils out of my pockets, clicked the buttons and cut off his head. I also sliced his side, and his body fell to the ground. My blades cut him like he was made of butter. It was kind of gross, but I had bigger problems. I pulled the dagger out of his shoulder easily, and went into action. I ran to the cab, grabbed my bag and quickly changed my clothes, hiding evidence. I cut James up into smaller pieces, and set him on fire with the lighter lady Artemis gave me. I gave her my thanks, and promptly ran out of the building. The fire wasn't a normal fire, it grew faster than I ever imagined.

I left the cab parked near the building, I was sure it would burn as well. My feet smacked the pavement as I ran to my mother's house. Edward and his family were on to me, I was sure. What was I going to tell them? I couldn't tell them, not yet. The story came to me in an instant. Tell them another vampire came after James. Shift the suspicion away from me, it would work. It had to. Besides, a guy like him had to have some enemies, right?

In that instant, a blue car with tinted windows screeches to a halt beside me. Percy yanks me inside and Alice revs the engine and the car bolts away from my mother's house, away from the burning building and everyone is wondering what happened.

I tell them that I thought he had my mother, that he told me to come alone or he'd kill her. I'm careful to put just the right amount of fear into my voice so they believe me. I told them about the other vampire coming after James and telling me to run.

"Are you serious?" Emmett asked me.

"You think I'm making this shit up? I make ONE friend here, and boom, he turns into a disco ball when he walks into the sun! His family eats Bambi for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and you're sitting there, asking me if I'm serious?" I asked.

"Dammit Meda, you should have told us!" Edward raises his voice.

"Well I couldn't, because he said he'd kill her, you idiot! Have you been listening to a damn word I've been saying?" I asked. "What?" I said, because half of his entire family was looking at me in shock. "I did what I thought I had to do. I'm fine, get over it." I finished. I stared moodily out of the window and refused to talk the rest of the way.

But I felt good.

I won.


End file.
